Donna De Lory on Bliss, Motherhood and Music
It’s a particularly steamy July afternoon, but singer, songwriter and producer Donna De Lory is ensconced in the cool of Jivamukti Yoga Center’s café, taking a quick herbal tea break before sound checking that evening’s concert at the popular New York studio. Exuberant, cheerful and very pregnant on this summer day (her second daughter finally arrived in November), De Lory says her return to Manhattan feels especially meaningful. Not only will she be jamming live on many of the new songs that appear on her sultry, invigorating new album Sanctuary, like the luminous title track, but while mixing the album in a Chelsea studio just months earlier, De Lory realized that she had truly – and blissfully - found the peace, fulfillment and inspiration she has been seeking as an artist and musician. With Sanctuary, De Lory has crafted an expressive, spiritually-charged album that embraces both her passionate exploration of yoga and meditation inspired music, like 2004’s mantra-driven The Lover and The Beloved, and the expansive, mystical folktronica that was the foundation of 2006’s Sky Is Open. Read more
Deva Premal
Deva Premal grew up in Germany in a spiritual family where she was introduced at an early age to chanting and meditation. Her mother is a musician and her father an artist.
“My father has been on the spiritual path since the 50’s, studying Yoga, spiritual scriptures and whatever books were available back then, making it his daily discipline to meditate every morning between three and five am,” she says.
“When I was growing up he devised exercises for my sister and I, to help us become more aware of the moment: We were taught to say ‘Om’ whenever we placed something on the table, for example. Another was to say ‘Ram’ whenever we switched on the light!” Read more
Dave Stringer
The Los Angeles Times has declared the experience of chanting with Dave Stringer to be “a departure from ancient kirtan. Stringer’s performance shaped the experience into a far more compelling musical encounter.” Kirtan (pronounced keer-tahn) originated in India, and is currently experiencing a worldwide renaissance as a participatory live music experience. Stringer has been widely profiled as one of the most innovative artists of the new American kirtan movement in publications as diverse as Time, Billboard, Yoga Journal and In Style. Read more
Mary Youngblood - First Lady of the Flute
Native American Mary Youngblood, half Seminole and half Aleut, is the first woman to professionally record the Native American Flute, and the first woman to win not just one, but two Grammy Awards for “Best Native American Music Album”. Read more
Wade Imre Morissette
FindBliss: Can you say a bit about your yoga practice? How and where did you start it and how has it evolved over the years?
Wade Morrissette: It started 13 or so years ago. I was 18 and had just traveled and come back to try one year at university. I stumbled across a few books on Eastern mysticism and was hooked. I dropped out of university and plunged headfirst into Ashtanga yoga with Pattabhi Jois and Sharat in Mysore (in India) and through curiosity explored many more traditions including Iyengar, Yoga Therapeutics, Mantra/Japa/ Vedic Chanting, and Bhakti yoga. Read more
Krishna Das
Over the years Krishna Das has made numerous pilgrimages throughout India, meeting teachers and saints of many spiritual traditions on his quest to open and purify his heart. Living in jungles, in ashrams, and in holy places throughout India, he has had an opportunity to absorb the ancient truths that have been held by the Indian culture for thousands of years. Read more
Snatam Kaur
Snatam Kaur is one of the most celebrated young devotional artists performing today. Her angelic chants and songs deliver enchanting prayers to enhance yoga, meditation, healing practices or to sooth and enrich your work environment. Read more
Prem Joshua
Born to a musical family in Germany, Prem Joshua began learning the flute at the age of five and became a fine flautist when still a child. As a teenager he started learning electric guitar and saxophones. His practicing Rock and Jazz could not only be heard in his own house. Some of his neighbors (classical music teachers!) still haven’t forgiven him to this day!
Nevertheless he was soon performing in various Rock, Jazz and Fusion bands to a more appreciative audience, always searching for new ways of expressing and expanding his music. Read more
Miten
Miten grew up in the 60s. “At that time, England was alive with rock ‘n’ roll music and the sound of The Beatles. Everywhere you went it was on the street. It was a time of innocence, a time when you could sense the possibility that life has no boundaries.” He later went on to establish a successful career for himself in the 70s and 80s as a singer/songwriter, touring with such bands as Fleetwood Mac, Lou Reed and Ry Cooder. During this time he released two well-received albums, one produced by The Kinks, another by noted Los Angeles producer Bones Howe for Ariola Records. Read more
Maria Kostelas
Maria Kostelas has been described as a “pied piper of the soul.” Renowned authors Christiane Northrup, M.D., Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., and Judith Orloff, M.D. among others have endorsed her music. Maria has released six solo compact discs of original music through her record label, Flutes of the World. AOL Spa Guide selected her CD, “Ancient Voices from Within” as one of their Top 10 Pick for spa music. Her CD “One Heart” has been licensed to play in hospitals throughout the country. Read more
