RockOm

RockOm Round-up is a quick glance at what's going on around the world in the areas of music and spirituality...

• 'The Music is Filled with Colors' - An Artist and a String Quartet Interpret Music by Czech Composer Krása, Who Died in the Holocaust: "The composition is powerful, compelling and contains a message of hope and promise," he said. "There's a spiritual quality to the sky; it really works symbolically as a sign of freedom." (forward.com)
• Marin Interfaith Council concert takes world music to eclectic spiritual level - "'Interfaith music is the way we really need to go in terms of living peacefully together,' said Cantor Linda Hirschhorn, Vocolot's founder. 'The more we can appreciate each other's culture, the more places there are where our beliefs can intersect. And when we find those, then we have more in common that we can share.'" (marinij.com)
• Indian classical music icon Hangal dead - "Leading Indian classical vocalist Gangubhai Hangal died Tuesday at a hospital after a brief illness... Her demise was mourned by the Indian music community which said Hangal reached the pinnacle of music, battling poverty and defying gender and caste barriers in the conservative, pre-independence India." (earthtimes.com)
• Three days of peace and music make a comeback - "'It was an amazing event in that a group or community of people came together, that it was peaceful at a time when things were pretty horrible,' Lang said. 'All these things we had been striving for came together that weekend -- I thought this was a chance for us to demonstrate what the world was going to be like when we were in charge. I think it was a moment of hope in a very dark time.'" (manchesterjournal.com)

Prem Joshua’s International band – formed in the lively and chaotic witches’ cauldron of an Indian metropolis – today stands out as one of the most refreshing multi-cultural musical experiences to be found between Bombay and Berlin. On this album, Prem Joshua & Band present the highlights of their 2007 concert tour. These live recordings feature seven new versions of Prem Joshua “classics” and two brand-new tracks.

With originality, virtuosity and confidence the quartet creates a musical masala of Indian classical, jazz, funk and chill out… a music so masterly yet playful blended, that it has found a place in the hearts of listeners from the East, the West and beyond.

Multi-instrumentalist and composer, Prem Joshua is a pioneer in the field of world music, exploring and creating a new synthesis in music beyond the borders of East and West. This has earned him the title of the “Fusion Guru”.

He was born in Germany, his search for his owns spirituality, and music style has taken him to such countries as Greece, Turkey, Afghanistan and India. Coming from his western roots in Rock and Jazz, he performed in various bands world-over, but soon his spiritual and musical search brought him to the east. He has been living, studying and playing music in the Middle East and mainly India for more than 20 years. Especially his meeting with the mystic-genius Osho in India brought him in contact with meditation and his “inner music”. Among the master musicians he has been influenced by and learning from are sitar masters Ustad Usman Khan and Ravi Shankar, who brought him in contact with Indian classical music.

In India, he spent many years dedicating him to meditation and study of Indian classical and folk music. There he started playing traditional instruments such as the Persian Santoor (a hammered dulcimer), Dilruba (an ancient Indian bowed instrument), and the Bansuri (Indian bamboo flute).

Drawing inspiration from the deep wells of these ancient eastern traditions he never loses touch with the pulse of contemporary western music, such as electronic “trance music” or the recent developments in “world music”. This openness to different musical influences from all over the world creates an unusual yet very harmonious blend of exotic acoustic music with modern grooves and sounds. His musical merger brought him recognition by critics, music lovers and press in the east and west especially in India he is celebrated as the new “guru of fusion”.

When asked about his music Joshua replied, “For me, music has always been something spiritual, a chance to express something wonderful that cannot be said, something that makes you feel so alive, that gets you on your feet but ultimately leads you to a silent space within.”

In 1990, Joshua formed the world music band “Terra Incognito” releasing two albums, “No Goal but the Path” and “Tribal Gathering”. In 1993 he released his first solo album “Tale of a Dancing River” followed in 1994 by “Hamsafar,” on which he leads a group of internationally renowned musicians from eight different countries in an impressive world fusion project.

With his music Prem Joshua has toured all over the world, giving concerts in the USA, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, India and the whole of Europe.

By RnM team. Reprinted with permission.

Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Dakini-Lounge-Prem-Joshua-Remixed/dp/B0000CERM1
http://www.premjoshua.com/

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