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The Music
Throughout my life, I have been given songs by many teachers. In grade school, our mornings began with sing-a-longs and our afternoons were spent in a tranquil bungalow in the woods by a creek, listening to and discussing many styles of music from classical and soothing contemporary to rock and jazz.
My great love and admiration for foreign cultures have been cultivated over this lifetime. Steeped with wanderlust I travel often. As a child I took trips with my family abroad and had the great fortune to taste the spices and flavors of many countries’ foods, divine in their dances and float on their cosmic melodies and rhythms. The blood of different cultures flows through my veins. This is why I use the rhythms and instruments of many cultures blended together to create the music in this collection. They are like me, a kaleidoscope of cultures.
I am told my first words were a song and dance. Dancing is equivalent to breathing for me. While on the path of dance, I was lead to play the West African Djembe drum. The late great Babatundi Olatunji along with his drummers who survived him, Sikiru Adepoju and Sanga of the Valley were my first beloved drum teachers. It is to these great beings that I dedicate the rhythms created here which set the groove for these chants. It is my intension that my love and gratitude for all these gifts come through the sounds of this music as you listen.
The cosmic drummer, Shiva is my guardian astrologically. Shiva is the keeper of the drum, the drum beat and the rhythm of the universe. The first time my hand made a sound on the Djembe, I felt an arm reach out, grab me and pull me inside. I now exist within the resonant chamber of the drum dancing to the cosmic pulse of Shiva.
Magically a pattern of the number seven recurred within the seven pieces of music in this compendium. My soul number is seven. Seven is a symbol wisdom, perfection, balance and rest. It represents spirituality, sensitivity, sympathy and mystery. There are seven main chakras in the body. I did not set out to create a chant specifically for each individual chakra. It is my hope that this collection be used as a means to boost energy and give healing to the entirety of our beings. You are free to use the chants as you wish.
Some of the sacred mantras in this album are closer to the way I first heard them sung by my beloved teachers. Others began as written words, passed on to me through friends or discovered in my reading. These mantras transformed in my consciousness and morphed into song through divine inspiration
I met my producer and engineer Liv while recording the music of Tribe of 2, with my partner Brent Scherer for our duo’s second album. During one of our sessions, I mentioned that I had original chant music. It is a great blessing to have this collaboration with Liv. He brings amazing creativity and his incredible talent to this project. Liv and I invited many great artists to add their delicious musical styling to the tracks. We are graced by their musical presence.
Together we honored that the music in this collection has a life of its own. It is my intention to allow this music to be as fluid as it pleases, realizing that I am merely a conduit and that Liv is the catalyst for its manifestation.
I honor the great ones who had a part in this creation. It is through their blessings and teachings that I am able to share the power of these vibrations. The love of these beings gave final polishing to what you are about to listen to. These teachers and my friends are important beacons upon my path. To each of them I am forever grateful.
The stories and mythologies of many cultures fuel my creative endeavors. To the gods and goddesses of these pantheons, I give my heartfelt thanks and am forever devoted. It is through the blending of cultures and integrating of many styles of music that I wish to bring peace and acceptance to all nations of this planet. I pray that this music enlightens consciousness through the weaving of boundaries and the blending of cultures. My belief is that when we taste the food of another culture, sing words from their language and dance to their rhythms, we are able to let go of preconceived ideas and fully embrace them in love. May this music bring you joy and put a wide smile upon your face. May the beat of the drums move through you and inspire you to dance. May the blending of these musical flavors bring a sweet taste to your psyche and greater awareness and acceptance that we are all one tribe. OM, Ashe, Aho, Sat Nam! With Love and Peace, Enjoy! Ambika Devi
Discography
1. The Mahakala Mantra of Kalachakra
/ Tibet
The Mahakala mantra honors Lord Shiva as the ruler of time and the master of destiny. Shiva has a reputation as destroyer of obstacles. He is believed to be able to alter the course of destiny. Chant this powerful mantra and you have the ability to transform all substances. You can magically slow down time and gain the powers of health, wealth, and wisdom. This is achieved through devotion, ritual and chanting the Mahakala mantra over water. Drink it in and hasten both personal and planetary evolution. Let us chant the Mahakala mantra together.
2. White Tara / Tibet
White Tara is the mother of all Tara energy and is
seen as the feminine manifestation of the Buddha. She is the mother of
liberation. Her color white represents all the colors of the rainbow.
She has seven eyes. Two in the face, one is in each palm of the hands,
one on each sole of the feet and a wide-open third eye. From White Tara
sprung all of the other Taras in their rainbow colors.
This sacred mantra was spoken softly to me by ZaChoeje Rinpoche just one
time. I wrote it out, repeated it back and vowed to do right by him. It
is with deep gratitude that I share this mantra with you. Ask Tara
your most heartfelt wishes and she will guide you to find them. Chant to
White Tara and live a long, healthy life full of serenity.
3. Elegua /
West Africa
Elegua comes from the West African Diaspora. He is a messenger able to cross boundaries and is also known as Hermes, Mercury, Thoth and Kokopeli. This trickster is the keeper of gates and crossroads. In Bembe celebrations he is the one who is sung to first as he opens the door and removes obstacles for us, much like Ganesha in the Hindu tradition. To vex him is to ask for trouble. I am smarter than that, having known him as a teacher for many years! Ashe Elegua!
4. Fire and Water / Original in
the Native American Spirit
This is the only chant in this collection for which I am responsible for the words and music. My shaman friend Serge Runningwolf Martel suggested adding the names of Mother Earth: Wakan Tonka and Father Sky: Tunkashila from his native language. When I did he smiled and chuckled, "Yes, now that sounds good!" I offer this chant to all beings of the Earth. I dedicate the soothing sounds of this chant to the spirit of Serge who has since passed on to the next dimension. May the sweetness and gentleness of this chant comfort you and take you to a peaceful place.
5. Om Namah Shivaya / India
My second chant to Shiva. This mantra is a way to say "I honor the divine essence" by literally saying "In your name Shiva." I prayed to find a unique way of singing this mantra by meditating in front of a beautiful painting I have of Lord Shiva each day. One morning when I came out of the meditation, I picked up my electric guitar and asked out loud "So Shiva, what does your song sound like?" What he sang to me is this version of his honoring. Sing praises to Shiva with me and experience the glorious vibration of his divine name!
6. Great Spirit
/ The Americas
I use this very sacred chant to Great Spirit to attune seekers to Reiki energy. I sing it in sweat lodges and chant it over large groups of people for chakra balancing. Together we glide easily into deep meditation on its profoundly soothing sound. Here I sing it through seven times to honor each of the seven main chakras and the seven horses which draw the chariot of Surya the Sun deity across the sky each day. I sing it seven times to honor the seven directions, the seven eyes of the White Tara and the seven stars of the Pleiades. May Great Spirit come to you when you chant this and bring you peace and deep healing.
7. Sat Kriya / Kundalini Yoga
and Sufi
My friend Stephanie handed me a tiny piece of paper folded in half with this mantra on it. She said "Maybe you will sing it and make it into a chant." In a very short time I began to sing this melody. Months later I was invited to play and chant for a yoga class. The teacher had the students perform an exercise called Sat Kria which uses the chant Sat Nam for energizing the whole body and raising the Kundalini. I spontaneously began to chant and play the melody over top. The structure of this chant formed itself on the pranayama exercises practiced by the yogis that day. Sat Nam is a mantra most commonly used in Kundalini Yoga. It is frequently spoken as a greeting among Sikhs similar to the use of Namaste in India. Sat Nam symbolizes truth as the divine energy. It is said to mean perfect truth and creates a knowing of one's identity. In Sanskrit Sat Nam literally means a bowing to that which truly exists. Honor yourself and all beings as you bow to their magnificent energy while chanting this potent mantra.
Credits:
Ambika Devi:
Lead Vocals, Congas,
Djembe, Dumbek & Percussion.
Liv Khalsa:
Keyboards, Drum Loops,
Recording & Mixing.
Yonatan Miller:
Violin, Recorder,
Clarinet.
Dashmesh Singh:
Didgeridoo.
Brent Scherer:
Electric Guitar.
Ric Flauding:
Electric Guitar.
Stan Sorenson:
Sitar Guitar.
Dheeraj Shrestha:
Tabla.
Mike King:
Electric Bass.
Tim Lyddon:
Acoustic Piano & Keyboards.
Backup Vocals:
Paul Richards, Sat
Kartar, Livtar Singh & Reva Alaila.
Ambika Devi! Hey!!!
Oh my god, beautiful!
You are an inspiration!
How lovely, sacred goddess!
Sending you lots of love and thanks,
will always remember you in my heart!
Lila Devi Elmer, CN
Thanks a lot Ambika Devi! We love it!
Exience Yoga Mumbai, India
"Great music Ambika Devi! Thanks for sharing! :-D"
Arjuna Göteborg, Sweden
"Divine... Love it!!! Thanks for sharing your beauty... :))"
Diego MIami, FL
"Namaste Ambika Devi, it is beautiful and touches the soul. All the best for this and for all your future endeavors. Team
Astromandir
and Gemstoneuniverse." Bangalore, India
"precioso!"
Monica Rafaela Paris, France
"Ambika Devi- INCREDIBLE!
Thank you for sharing your gifts with the world.
This is a very special production!!!
Congrats on all the threads coming together in perfect harmony, perfect timing. Lovely."
Julia Tampa, FL
"elegua is a hit! very cool"
Aaron Raleigh, North Carolina
"Wow Ambika Devi!!! I love it sooo soothing!! Go you I'm soo happy for you!! I wish you the best mamita!!"
"omg!! Fire and Water!!! LOVE IT!!!"
Sara Sya Phoenix, AZ
wow, love all your tracks! listening now! thanks for the gift of your music! will spread the word! Great spirit is moving me
right now! xoxo congrats
Stephanie Los Angeles, CA
"this is beautiful and came into my life right when I needed it!"
Jayne Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
"Wow Ambika Devi, this is awesome. I am so happy for you that this is now finished and weaving the sound healing into all. In
La'Kech, serendipity.....synchronicity....."
Jennifer Bend, OR
"Your music is beautiful. You have an amazing voice."
Tony Orlando, FL
Thank You! This is Great,,,the candles were lit and the rainstorm outside set the stage. This music of yours, Amazing, thank
you twice. I'll drop a few notes on my friends to stop by and listen. God Speed you'll sell a ton~PEACE
Ty Denver, CO
"Sounds great Amy! Congrats!
Richard Fort Lauderdale, FL