GauraVani.com » Ten Million Moons

Gaura Vani featured in the Boston Globe

rasa.acharya — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 21:45:29 +0000

By Tripp Underwood
Globe Correspondent / September 18, 2009

Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits were featured in the music section of the Boston Globe on September 18th 2009. The article ran in the printed paper as well as their website.

Gaura Vani, a Hare Krishna musician who combines traditional Indian kirtan music with Western elements such as 12-string guitar, gospel choruses, and hip-hop rhythms, is a musical product of his environments.

Born in Los Angeles, Vani was sent to India at a young age to study sacred music by his Hare Krishna parents. Upon completing his studies he returned to the States, where he began combining spiritual Indian kirtans – a form of rhythmic, call-and-response chanting over various musical accompaniments – with the other music of his youth: rock, pop, and world music.

The result is a genre-defying hybrid of ancient Indian sacred music and modern Western styles. Sitars, mridanga drums, and chanted vocals meld smoothly with guitars and the occasional hip-hop vocal flow, all with clearly defined verses and choruses and a focus on melody not usually found in traditional Indian music.

And though his music contains deeply spiritual lyrics and a layering of styles that spans centuries and continents, Vani maintains a surprisingly simple interpretation of sacred music and its relationship to its audience.

“Kirtan is just the process of using chant and music to clean the heart,’’ he said from his home outside the nation’s capital. “It’s like an ancient can of Scrubbing Bubbles to clean our hearts and help figure out who we are beyond the body.’’

Comparing a 5,000-year-old form of meditation chanting to a modern-day bathroom cleaner may sound like an odd analogy, but it makes sense when coming from a cross-cultural artist like Vani, whose latest CD, “Ten Million Moons,’’ is gaining attention in spiritual music circles as well as in the secular world.

“Music is just an expression of the heart and soul,’’ he says. “All I’m doing is drinking from different springs and bringing together in my heart what seems natural.’’

Intentional or not, Vani’s eclectic style has allowed him to take his songs and message from Krishna temples and yoga studios to a wider range of audiences. In the past year Vani has performed at diverse venues for all types of music fans from backpacked Chicago indie rockers at Lollapalooza to hippies and modern primitives in the Nevada desert at Burning Man to a jubilantly dancing crowd at the Church of the Holy City in Washington, D.C., who had gathered to celebrate President Obama’s inauguration.

Vani and his band, As Kindred Spirits, bring their unique brand of kirtan music to Boston Common on Sunday. The performance is sponsored by the Boston chapter of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness to celebrate Rath Yatra, one of the most sacred holidays in the Hindu world.

The embracing of different cultures and musical styles is apparent not only in Vani’s music but also in his signing to Matrology, a subdivision of Equal Vision Records, a New York label best known for releasing punk rock and hard-hitting emo albums.

Ray Cappo, a yoga teacher and former punk musician who leads spiritual pilgrimages to India and now answers to the Krishna name Raghunath, says elements of the hardcore punk subculture and Hare Krishna teachings have far more in common than many realize. “A lot of people in the hardcore scene are very concerned with similar issues that occur in Krishna consciousness like anti-materialism, vegetarianism, and straight edge,’’ Raghunath says, referring to the cultural movement that eschews drugs and alcohol.

“Twenty-five years later that is how we still live our lives,’’ says Raghunath, formerly of the underground band Shelter, which combined Krishna-influenced lyrics with razor-sharp guitars and blistering drum beats. “Some things may have changed with time, but it’s a form of continual evolution, and in one sense it’s exactly what we were doing in the punk scene when we were teenagers.’’

Vani shares Raghunath’s belief that music inspired by spirituality should retain core elements but be able to evolve with the times and changing tastes of followers.

“Spiritual music is a living tradition . . . from ‘Johnny B. Goode’ to the Bad Brains,’’ says Vani. “It grows and is alive. The music we make is just a natural progression of that.’’

Read the entire article here.

01 Visvambhar Das – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:01:24 +0000

Visvambhar Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

02 Jagannath Kirtan – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:00:27 +0000

Jagannath Kirtan Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

03 Gaura Vani – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:28:06 +0000

Gaura Vani Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

04 Akincana Krishna – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:27:35 +0000

Akincana Krishna Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

05 Nama Rasa – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:25:22 +0000

Nama Rasa Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

06 Keshavacharya – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:24:50 +0000

Keshavacharya Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

07 Gopal Das – 24 Hour Kirtan 09

rasa.acharya — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:24:03 +0000

Gopal Das leads during the 24 Hour Kirtan.

10 Days of 24 Hour Kirtan Recordings – Day 1

rasa.acharya — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:50:20 +0000

We will be posting the recordings from the 24 hour kirtan over the next 10 days. These are high quality recordings that we made using our multi-track recorder and studio quality microphones. Enjoy these wonderful kirtans by Visvambhar, Jagannath Kirtan, Gaura Vani and Akincana Krishna das.

Check back tomorrow for the next batch!

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

Ten Million Moons – The Long-Awaited CD Release Party

sachi — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:30:35 +0000

Finally, it was time to release the album that we had been working on for the last two and a half years: Ten Million Moons. Eddie Stern’s Asthanga Yoga New York and Sri Ganesha Temple, always being supportive, offered to host the event. It was the perfect venue because it had an Old World ambiance and because, with Sri Ganesh and Radha Govinda Deities acting as witnesses, it was a place where we could make the album a true offering.

The tickets sold out online, and each guest recieved a complimentary copy of Ten Million Moons as appreciation for their support. By the time the show started, the room was packed.

Gaura began the night by singing, “Guru Gauranga Jayate,” which was an offering of respects to his guru and to all teachers. It was an honest and humble way to begin a night in celebration of Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits‘ newest accomplishment.

Then, accompanied by special guest Wah! on bass, we went on to sing a few more of the songs featured on the album. Everyone was on their feet. There was then a break to mingle and eat some of the vegan snacks brought over from the Radha Govinda Temple in Brooklyn: samosas and dhoklas and salad!

The second half of the program was full of more improvisational chanting. Our friend Mike joined in for some beatboxing, MC Yogi stood up and rapped about Ganesh and Krishna, and Shyamdas accompanied the kirtan in the final set. Finally, Gaura asked Srikanta Prabhu from the Radha Govinda Temple to chant. He lead a more traditional Hare Krishna kirtan that ended the night with everyone excited for all that is to come.

A very special thanks to Adideva Cuffee for taking all the amazing photos.

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

Kirtan for the Kids

gaura.vani — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 02:02:52 +0000

In Alachua, FL, which is just outside of Gainesville, there’s an elementary school called the Bhaktivedanta Academy, which holds a fundraiser event every year. This year, they invited us to perform for their Gitanjali concert. It was special for me because I got to play with a lot of friends who were in the area: Bada Hari played keyboard, Vishvambar sang and played flute, and Purusharta played bass. Many of our friends danced, including Vrinda, Vishvambar’s fiancé, and Anapayani and her students from the Bhaktikalalayam dance school. We only had one day for rehearsal, but we had a blast putting music together with a bunch of old friends, and came up with a performance that the community really appreciated. They had been hoping to bring in someone famous for their special event, but instead they just ended up with us, so we gave the performance our full heart. In the end, the Gitanjali fundraising concert raised over $21,000.

The next day, I had to leave for a friend’s wedding up in Philadelphia, so my trip south was a whirlwind tour. I came in on Thursday, spent all of Friday and half of Saturday practicing and performing, and then left sunny Florida to go back to the chilly north.

Gaura Vani

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

Kirtan at Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Mandir

rasa.acharya — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:52:56 +0000

Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan Mandir is our local DC temple that we attend while not traveling around the world. You can usually find us there Sunday evenings after the free feast doing kirtans late into the night. Mandir kirtans are a little different then ’sangha’ kirtans as they are sung directly towards the personal form of Krishna. So the focus is on the deity and not on the singer.

This night was a little different as we asked to hold a ’sangha’ kirtan in the temple. We were graced with the heavenly voice of Sarbani Bardhan who sings Mira’s Song and Worship the Golden Lord on the Ten Million Moons album. Check out the live recording of Worship the Golden Lord below.

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

Ten Million Moons on iTunes

rasa.acharya — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:35:02 +0000

Our album Ten Million Moons is up on iTunes in the new New and Noteworthy section (see photo). We are super excited and greatful to everyone of you for helping push the album up there. Please leave us a review on the album page and create an iMix using songs from our album and your other favorite artists. This helps us spread the word.

New Yoga Mala Videos

rasa.acharya — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:35:12 +0000

We have been working behind the scenes on a number of things. We had another session of live kirtan recordings at the Sri Sri Radha Madana Mohana temple in Potomac Maryland as part of our Capital Kirtans series. Pictures and MP3s will be up soon.

We’ve also been working on lots of slighting boring yet important administrative and infrastructure related tasks to get our kirtan machine oiled and running at full speed.

And of course we also also working on finishing Ten Million Moon as well as preparing the press kits, promotional tour and technical production lines.

So for now, enjoy these new clips we put up on YouTube. Make sure you subscribe to our YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/user/AsKindredSpirits

Krishna Murari

Ram Ram Ram

Tracking the Flute

rasa.acharya — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:10:11 +0000

Another weekend in the studio…

Our good friend Krishna Kishore or Kish as we like to call him came all the way from Florida to lend us his amazing flute and percussion talents. We kept him in the studio the entire three day weekend until his lips were blistering (no joke) and his fingers were cramping.

You will hear Kish’s flute on at least three songs in Ten Million Moons. Sorry we don’t have a preview right now, the songs are all going through the last round of creation.

A Preview of Ten Million Moons – The New Album

rasa.acharya — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 20:04:43 +0000

For the past year we have been working steadily on the new album entitled Ten Million Moons. This album has been a true undertaking given the task of topping the performances on the first album. We are currently in the final stages of recording and we can confidently say that the musical quality and energy is as good if not better then the first album.

Take a minute and listen to a small sample taken straight from the unmixed tracks of Siksastakam.

Download (right click… save as)

We don’t have a date for the album release, but are shooting for fall this year.

More coming soon about Ten Million Moons.