Bio

Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits

Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits Press Kit (1536)

Join this sacred, world-music experience and discover the uplifting power of Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits. This multicultural group of musicians, singer, dancers and performers brings the ancient, mystical tradition of kirtan to live as you’ve never heard it before. Rhythms and melodies of East and West combine to create a sound that is both cutting-edge and inspired. Performing with Legendary kirtan artists such as Jai Uttal, Wah!, Shyam Das, Dave Stringer, Krishna Das, Snatam Kaur and MC Yogi, As Kindred Spirits captures hears and inds of audiences wherever they go- from New York to Johannesburg, Australia to London, Mumbai to Hollywood.

Background

	Gaura Vani For Gaura, the road to As Kindred Spirits took a few detours and scenic byways, but now the view behind him couldn’t be better. Gaura was born into an American Hare Krishna family and left the US at age six for a gurukula (temple school) in the holy city of Vrindavan, India. He studied ancient Sanskrit and Bengali prayers, learned to play traditional instruments and sing sacred music. It was here that a lifelong desire to make inspirational music was born. After returning to the states and a typical American lifestyle, Gaura rebelled against his spirituality: he drank, ate meat, and committed other Hare Krishna no-nos. He started a rock band and flirted with Hollywood, landing bit roles in a few blockbuster movies and TV shows. When waves of inner emptiness became too hard to ignore, Gaura switched gears and became a monk at a temple in Venice, CA. Later, he went to India, found his guru, Radhanath Swami, and through an interesting turn of events, became the lead singer of a Slovenian rock band. In Washington, DC, Gaura met his beautiful wife and started a wonderful family. A desk job in the State Department was made slightly less claustrophobic by evening and weekend kirtans. A rotating cast of fellow kirtaniyas gelled into a band, and As Kindred Spirits was born. Over time, the desire to inspire and serve the world through music consumed him, and the cubicle was traded in for a kurta, the briefcase for bhakti. In January 2009, Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits launched the radical, first ever Chant4Change, when 1,000 people gathered in Washington, DC on the eve of the presidential inauguration to empower the new Obama administration. Since then, they have performed for NPR, CBS, Lollapalooza, Burning Man, Bhakti Fest, as well as in countless yoga studios and grassroots get-togethers on every continent.
	Jahnavi Harrison Violin Jahnavi Harrison was raised in an environment full of kirtan from birth. She began studying Western classical violin as a child, exploring different styles of music, from Irish to Klezmer. In recent years, her studies in South Indian dance (Bharatanatyam) have led her to undertake further study in South Indian Carnatic vocal and violin. She is a kirtan singer, writer, dancer, and a visual artist.
	Shyam Kishore Tabla, Sarod Shyam’s family comes from Gujarat, in India, but he was raised and educated in America. Shyam has personally trained under India’s greatest musicians including Zakir Hussein and others at the Ali Akbar Khan School of Music in California and is an expert tabla player, and a tasteful and sensitive sarod and violin player.
	Vrinda Rani Bharata-natyam Dancer Vrinda has performed throughout the world from Poland to Southern India, receiving recognition for her grace and energy. She practices a sacred dance that was, until recently, performed only privately in the inner sanctum of temples in front of the icon or deity. Made public in the last 75 years, this dance incorporates hand gestures and rhythmic foot patterns to relay the stories and philosophy of devotion. Vrinda is the mother of two and an Electrical Engineer.

People are talking about Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits

“Gaura Vani and Kindred Spirits is bringing the ecstatic kirtan traditions of Bhakti yoga to America with full loving force. From Burning Man, to yoga studios, to chanting for change in Washington DC, Gaura Vani is a sacred activist and artist leading the way. Recommended with all my heart.” -Shiva Rea

“This sweet, powerful music transforms the mind, penetrates the heart and awakens the soul. I love it! -Radhanath Swami

“Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits are simply the most wonderful kirtan band in the Western world. Listen, sing and be transported. -Jai Uttal

“This is Trancendental music at its best. Brings us to the Doorstep of the Divine. Hari Bol!” -MC Yogi

“Chanting with Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits is incredibly thrilling. the ecstasy is highly contagious. Simultaneously wild and serene, it is an amazing flavor combination.” -Dave Stringer

“Some of the most humble kirtan singers and talented musicians you will ever hear in America. this is soul music—authentically rocking. This band is very hip and very holy.” -Sharon Gannon

“Sri Krishna Sankirtana at its best, the place of the hidden moons where Radha and Krishna want you to go! – DJ Cheb I Sabbah