It is our pleasure to announce the release of the eponymously titled debut album from ASHIRVAD (meaning “Blessings”), on Sangita Sounds.  Featuring 8 tracks of Ambient Raga, Indian Fusion, Ethnodelic dubs and Meditation trance that have been specially designed for a superior chillout experience.  The album is the fruit of their 6 month recording tour and a years production work back in Sangita Studio HQ in London.  With pre-release copies having been tested by Yogis, Masseurs, Psychedelic Dreamers, Wizards, World Class Audiophiles and Cosmic Dudes across the globe. we can say with certainty that this has well and truly passed the Acid Test.

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Ashirvad – Magic Carpet (Excerpt)

“Ashirvad” is manifest

After a six-month recording tour in India followed by a year production in London and a move to Glastonbury (Avalon), the production Duo of Mathura Das and Darren Sangita, aka Ashirvad have delivered a stunning album that exhibits an extra-ordinary sense of aesthetics both in their art and music.

Featuring a host of talented classical, devotional and folk musicians from India and around the Globe, Ashirvad is a new paradigm in the future of spiritual sounds.

Ashirvad have created an exotic fusion soundscape blending ambient Indian Ragas, subtle electronica and spiritual moods to guide you on a mystical journey to the transcendental realms. Ashirvad is a kaleidoscopic musical pilgrimage across the sacred heartlands of India.  Ashirvad give thanks to all their family, friends and fans for all their support.

Click through to read some of the reviews of Ashirvad :-

Read more

The eminent Indian Music and arts organisation, Darbar, have just announced their line up for this years impressive Darbar festival.

The festival encompasses North and South Indian music traditions, along with film exhibitions, free workshops and a chance to meet and discuss with some of the artists.

A veritable feast of Classical Indian Musicians will resonate their marvellous music in the city of London for the main body of the events, from 1st – 4th April 2010.  No doubt the city is blessed to have such a dazzling array of stars in its midst and I heartily encourage anyone with an interest in the magic of music to attend any of these excellent performances.

With such esteemed heavyweight musicians such as as Shiv Kumar Sharma (Santoor), Anindo Chatterjee (Tabla) and the Gundecha Brothers (Dhrupad Vocal) the line up is drenched in promise.  Lesser know but no less talented appearances from artists such as the Canartic vocal duo Ranjani & Gayatri are sure to captivate British audiences and leave them spellbound.  The magical tones of Kaushal Das on Sitar are also sure to delight the listener and reveal nuances of music that will illuminate and enthrall.  I have blogged many times about the great Indian Classical Music festivals such as Dover Lane Conference in Kolkata or Dhrupad Mela in Varanasi, but this really is the closet thing we are going to get this side of the Indian Ocean.

The line-up is listed here with more details below:-

Festival elements…

Carnatic vocal and instrumental | North Indian Hindustani vocal | Dhrupad | Western Operatic | Free Workshops | Audience with the artists | Films | Mini-concerts | Concerts throughout the day

The line-up…

Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma | Patricia Rozario | Veena Sahasrabuddhe | Rohan de Saram | Dhruba Ghosh | Bhupinder Chaggar | Hari Sivanesan | T Pirashanna | Kousic Sen | Satyajit Talwalkar | Dharambir Singh | Sunil Kant Gupta | Shahbaz Hussain | Ranjani and Gayatri | Jyotsna Srikanth | H. S. Sudhindra | Sanju Sahai | Kushal Das | Pandit Anindo Chatterjee | Ravi Shankar Upadhay | A K Palanivel | Rajhesh Vaidhya | Arun Prakash | Anirudh Athreya | Pandit Venkatesh Kumar | Soumik Datta | Neyveli Venkatesh | Gundecha Brothers

The instruments…

Santoor | Sitar | Veena | Tanpura | Tabla | Mridangam | Pakhawaj | Cello | Sarod | Basuri (Indian flute) | Harmonium | Kanjira | Tavil

Early bird tickets are available, meaning that if you book before 28th February 2010, you pay less!  So get your tickets now and Book Online!

When:- Thursday, 01 April 2010 @ 18:00 till Sunday, 04 April at 22:00

Where:-Kings Place
90 York Way
Kings Cross
London
UK

www.darbar.org.uk

Darbar on Facebook

A taste of last years festival, much of which was recorded and broadcast by SKY arts channel.

Danse Odissi (Auditorium du Musee Guimet) by Dalbera. Available under an Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Dipanwita Roy and Priyadarshini Roy will be performing Odissi dance at the Nehru centre in Mayfair, London.  Odissi dance is one of the eight forms of Indian classical dance.

VENUE : Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London, W1K 1HF
DATES : Fri 22 May 6.30 pm
ADMISSION : Free

Dipanwita Roy Site

Nehru Centre

Extract from Nehru Centre website :-

An eminent Odissi dancer and a disciple of the great Guru Padmavibhushan Kelucharan Mohapatra, Dipanwita Roy has performed at major venues in India, and has extensively toured Europe, UK and the USA, for dance, workshops and demonstrations. Since 1985, she is conducting a school of Odissi dance, Shibaranjani, teaching nuances of Odissi to students. For her contribution to Odissi Dance, Dipanwita has received many awards and accolades.

One of the most talented Odissi dancers from India, Priyadarshini Roy was tutored in the nuances of Odissi by her mother, Dipanwita Roy. Priyadarshini started performing at a young age. She has a first class degree (Prabhakar) in Odissi from Prayag Sangeet Sammity, Allahabad.

Ashirvad will be previewing their new album at dates planned in Spain and London.

Association Cultural Furthur have invited us to spread the love vibrations at their magic multi-cultural festival just outside Madrid at the end of this month.  Their beautiful energy will guarantee a cosmic weekend.  3 Daze of magic gathering with Live Acts, Djs, Vjs, Swimming pool, Chai, Market, Restaurant,Camping Area, Beds & Showers, Circus, Theatre, Organic-art, Workshops,  Ambient Lectures and more…

Date :September 27th – 29th 2009

Venue : La Chopera, Madrid

At Inspiral Lounge, London,  Sangita Sounds present Ashirvad, a kaleidoscopic musical mandala of sonic nectar.  Join us for a celebration in sound fusing and innovating in the traditions of Bengali dub, ambient raga, indian folk, devotional & classical music and psychedelic electronica.

Date : October 9th 2009, 8pm – 1:30am

Venue : Inspiral Lounge, Camden, London, UK

Admission : free