We got to lead the Aquarian Sadhana meditations this morning at Golden Bridge Yoga in Manhattan. It was so blissful. Thank you to everyone who came and shared did their Sadhana (daily practice) and chanted with us.
Here's a rough recording from the morning. The end of Wahe Guru Jio with a cool new transition into Guru Ram Das.
We had the blessing of leading the Sadhana chants in the morning and rocking out in YTC that same evening. Thank you to all the amazing players who helped make this so much fun. I know it's a little lengthy, but there's a couple of treats towards the end. Counter clockwise from bottom left: Siri Kartar on pedal steel guitar, Pritham Hari on Guitar, Hari Atma on Bass, Guru Darshan on Drums, Sat Darshan on Keys and Lead Vocals, Akalpreet and Siri Rishi on backup vocals, Bachan Kaur on backup vocals and freestylin', Terrence on Dholak.
I know it's been a very very long time since I posted anything, but I feel like this opportunity was too good to ignore. I've been living in NYC for a bit now, interning at a recording studio. I got off a night shift there and decided to kill some time in Central Park while I waited until the time I was supposed to meet up with a friend. On my way through I saw an old guy playing trumpet on a bench with his case open in front of him. I thought of my first audio mentor Jason Goodyear and wished I had a way to record it. Than I remember I had my laptop with me! (I usually do). So I booted her up, started Logic and just let it go. While I was recording, my mom called me, and so I got that to. I wasn't very close, but trumpets are so loud, I think it turned out pretty cool.
Oh, and Jason, give me a call and leave a message.
I know I haven't posted in a while, but Bachan asked if I could did up this track for her and it was so beautiful, I figured I better. And I was even able to steel a picture from Bachan that actually goes with it. What more can you ask? There's a buzz at the beginning, but it goes away after a few seconds.
Everything Belongs To You - Bachan Kaur Khalsa Download
Leraine Sat Nam!!! I know it's been forever since I've posted anything (about half a year), but I'm still here, and with plenty of spiritually uplifting music live music to share. The Summer Solstice Sadhana here in Espanola just ended. I didn't record nearly as much music as I would've liked, most of the main events got recorded, but there were a lot of Yogi Tea Cafe performances that I really wish I could've captured on tape. I did get a few good one's though. One musician in particular I am very happy to have and be able to share, Leraine Horstmanshoff. She played in the Yogi Tea Cafe a few times as well as in the Rensabhai. Whether she was rocking out, or playing something soft and meditative, she did it with so much skill, as well as a lot of heart. One of the most amazing things she did, which I'm sad to say I wasn't able record, was play the didgeridoo and guitar at the same time. We (the sound crew) had to help her by making a little nook on the floor of the stage out of tape so she could keep the didge steady since both hands were busy with the guitar.
The first track is from Yogi Tea Cafe. When I was recording this, my computer crapped out during her intro, so I tried to edit the pieces I had into something smooth. The second 2 are from the Rensabhai. She played at a really magical time just before the Amrit Ceremony started and only the die hards were still awake. There was a group of us sitting together right in front of the stage she was on and there's one part where you can here us all singing together in unison. It was really beautiful.
I wish I had some pictures of her, or knew if she had a website I could link to. I feel bad for not putting more energy into getting to know her, if anyone does, please let me know or direct her here. And enjoy her awesome music! The above picture is from Prabhu's blog and is outside the tent and around the time Yogi Tea Cafe was happening.
I apologize for not posting for so long and I hope I haven't lost too many of you. Here's a recording from the Rensabhai (all night Kirtan/Music) that we had here in the Espanola Gurduara for New Years. That whole night was so beautiful, and so much inspiring and uplifting kirtan was played. Here's a small sample and a picture to go with it. I led the shabd and was very blessed to have Hari Bhajan Kaur and Bachan Kaur singing with me as well as Simran Singh playing the tabla. There's nothing like a good solid Jatha to lead the Sangat in Kirtan. I'll post more samples from that night soon. This particular shabd is a shortened version, the extended version, as well as the Kirtan of the entire night will soon be available here Akanni Sound Productions for purchase. Some friends and I are in the process of starting a record label under this name (yay!) so that we can get even more and better quality uplifting music out there, and so all the money that we make by selling these live recordings will go to make this dream a reality. The website is still under construction, but we are hoping to have everything up by March 1st. Dhan So Vela - Sat Darshan Singh and Friends Download
OK, going to talk about something that may be a little controversial, but what are blogs for, eh? I've had or witnessed a couple of independent conversations that dealt with opposite sides of the same issue. Both of them made me feel kind of sad and angry as well. I have one very close friend who is relatively new to Sikhism, and her family has mixed feelings about it. They are all very open minded and universal, but they perceive Sikhism as being somewhat limited and ritualistic. My friend has said, and I agree with her, that Sikhism seems kind of insular from an outside perspective. And they also don't understand why she would want to devote so much energy into Sikh music. It is hard for her because she's stuck between 2 worlds that don't really relate to each other.
I spent some of my weekend with Snatam and Guru Ganesha because they wanted me to record the intense Raag training that they had scheduled. It came up during one of the sessions that at a number of different Gurduara's that they visited while on tour, the Granthis or heads of the Gurduara wouldn't let them play if they were going to include their non-sikh tabla player.
What has happened to Sikhism that these kind of things happen?\nDon't get me wrong, I love being a Sikh, and nothing makes me feel more empowered than wearing my 5 Kakars and full bana, or when I do Panj Baniaa. But to me, Sikhim was founded on a few very basic principles. A sense of Seva, or selfless service, and very stong concept of all inclusion. The Siru Guru Granth Sahib is full of hymns written by a number of Hindu and Muslim saints, some that lived before Guru Nanak's time. Members of all faiths were always welcome in Gurduara and the Lungar kitchen, and Guru Nanak's own chela and Rhebab player was a devout Hindu. Sikhism has never preached that it wasn necessarily better than other religions or that other faiths aren't valid. The reason Guru Nanak Ji offered a new path was much of Hinduism and Islam at the time was so corrupt and the people weren't living their faith, not because the faith and philosophy itself wasn't also a valid path to God.
Above all though, Sikhism was founded on the Pillar of the Shabd Guru. The whole Universe as we know is just vibrations at different frequncies, different manifestions of God if you will. And it is when these vibrations vibrate at higher and more pure frequencies that we perceive them as sound. The Guru's of the Sikh faith understood this phenomena and gave us the tools to fully utilize it in the form of the Shabd Guru, the perfect sound current. As Sikhs we only bow our head to the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, and the logic behind this is that only the perfect sound current, or Naad embodied in our Guru can truly help one vibrate with and become one with God. This isn't to say that you can only find Naad in our Guru, but I would be hard pressed to find so much, so centralized anywhere else.
But to have a friend who says she almost felt guilty wanting to devote her life to the Shabd Guru because of how her family perceives Sikhism and what they may have told her, or to hear that members of other faiths are not allowed to help lead our Sangat in experiancing the Shabd through music, even though they have the talent and devotion to do so, it makes me a little sad
I should be optimistic though. All this is just a very small part of the Global Sikh picture. The Golden Temlpe in Amritsar is a place that members of all faiths feel comfortable to visit, not just Sikhs. At least half, if not more than half of the people that come through every day to bow their head have short hair and are clean shaven. And there are people like Snatam who have devoted their lives to sharing the Shabd Guru with as many people as possible. And on that positive note, here's a beautiful picture from Winter Solstice taken by Sita Kaur and a track I put together a while ago that I feel is appropriate to the topic. I was taking an Audio Production class and our teacher gave a lecture on the concept of silence and an amazing man by the name of John Cage ( John Cage's 4'33"). It really resonated with me, because I've been taught as a Yogi and a Sikh that the universe is always vibrating God's name, so there is never "true silence." The Unstruck Sound Current, God frequncy, is always vibrating in everything. It was a great opportunity to experiment with this concept, and so I did. I think I could do a better job today, but I'll let this stand alone. Silence by The River Download
I'll post more beautiful examples of the Shabd Guru being sung soon.
Uthat Sukhia Baithat Sukhia - Sat Darshan Singh and Friends Download
The second 2 tracks are Guru Nam Singh accompanied by Snatam Kaur from the Rensabhai. He got to play for the double time of his slot because the person scheluded after him wasn't feeling well and he played a number of really beautiful original devotional songs of his. It was so nice to get to hear him play for so long and to have Snatam sing with him. It really put me in a state of Anand.
Ardas Bhaiee - Guru Nam Singh feat Snatam Kaur Download Like a Calm Lake - Guru Nam Singh Download The last track is extremely talented Siri Vias Singh playing a very peacefull chant from the Rensabhai. He's a blues guitarist and he usually plays his guitar in open D. He didn't do any slide for this, but it has just a twinge of a bluesy feel to it. Another very blissful track. Sat Nam Wahe Guru - Siri Vias Singh Download
The chants on the first morning of Winter Solstice were led by Hari Bhajan Kaur previously of Tennessee, now of Florida near Kashi Ashram. She did all the chants from her Sadhana CDs, but it was really nice to hear them live. Her voice is so ambrosial. She was accompanied by Guru Nam Singh who also has an amazing voice and devotion. This is a short clip from the Wahe Guru chant. Wahe Guru, Wahe Jio Download
The chants on the third morning was one of my favorites. It was led Guru Ganesha Singh with back up vocal by Karta Kaur and Sat Jot Singh doing backup vocals and playing keys. They did some from the Grateful Ganesh Sadhana CD, some from live at 5, a few that haven't even been recorded and one from one of Snatam's very first album which was a Sadhana CD (good place to start). It was like a chronicle of Spirt Voyage from before it even was Spirit Voyage. This was the Guru Ram Das Chant they played which Guru Ganesha borrowed from Sat Jot Singh because it is so Beautiful. Guru Ram Das Chant Download
