David Newman Releases his new CD: LOVE, PEACE, CHANT KIRTAN
As Yoga continues to spread its wings in America, a new component of the ancient tradition is emerging as part of the new spiritual music explosion. It is called Kirtan!
Kirtan is a group gathering where sacred mantras are sung together in a call and response style. It is a unique concert setting where music and singing are treated as meditation and the audience is as much a part of the band as the band members themselves. All throughout the country the awareness of this ancient practice is growing.
Here in the US there is a whole new breed of Kirtan singers. These “Chant Artists”, as they are called, are blending western musical sounds and styles with ancient Sanskrit healing Kirtan mantras.
DAVID NEWMAN AKA DURGA DAS
One such Chant Artist is David Newman who is innovating the world of chant by making musically eclectic Kirtan records and traveling extensively spreading awareness of this new musical genre. David, also known as Durga Das, is known for artfully blending songwriting, innovative musicality and Kirtan chanting in a way that makes the experience deeply accessible and even somewhat familiar to listeners of modern music.
In 2004 David met well known New York City Producer and Mix engineer Frank Wolf who has worked with artists such as Elton John, Pink, Santana, Dido and JLO. The two immediately found a natural musical rapport and recorded their groundbreaking Lotus Feet: A Kirtan Revolution. Lotus Feet became an instant classic in the newly emerging Kirtan field of ‘spiritual world mantra music’. It was reviewed on the National Public Radio show All Things Considered on June 20th, 2006. David and Frank followed up Lotus Feet with Leap of Grace, a beautiful recording of a sacred and ancient Indian healing prayer called the Hanuman Chalisa and a live CD/DVD Set entitled Into the Bliss.
LOVE, PEACE, CHANT
In the fall of 2008, David was approached by Nettwerk Records CEO and founder, Terry McBride. Terry, who works with such artists as Sarah Mclachlan, Avril Lavigne and Barenaked Ladies, signed David to a record deal with a desire to bring the beauty of Chant music to a widening audience. To facilitate this vision, Terry revived a subsidiary label of Nettwerk called Nutone and in addition to David, signed other notable chant artists including Krishna Das, Wah, Wade Morrissette and Reema Datta.
As a result of this affiliation with Nettwerk, David went back into the studio to collaborate with his long time producer Frank Wolf. The results are a beautiful and accessible CD entitled: Love, Peace, Chant. Love, Peace, Chant comprises an impassioned musical landscape calling forth the rich presence of Spirit through the poetic impressions of sacred song and the ancient Indian Kirtan chant tradition. From ecstatic Kirtan chanting to intimate sacred songs and hypnotic trance jams, Love, Peace, Chant is as emotionally evocative as it is spiritually transcendent. Whether settling into the warmth of meditative reflection, blissfully calling forth the Divine names, or soaring into the mystic – Love, Peace, Chant emanates an exalted quality that both soothes and grooves with every note.
DAVID’S BIO AND REVIEWS
David Newman or Durga Das, as he is also known, is a Kirtan Chant Artist, singer songwriter and a practitioner and educator of Bhakti Yoga – the yoga of love. David travels extensively singing Kirtan (Indian devotional chanting) and sharing the spiritual, devotional, meditative and musical aspects of yoga. David’s music embodies a devotional mysticism, distinctive musicality, poetic intimacy and a deep respect for India’s ancient chant tradition. His recordings expand the traditional Kirtan medium by incorporating a wide range of musical and lyrical elements and by exploring a vast palette of progressive production influences. David recordings include Lotus Feet: A Kirtan Revolution, Soul Freedom, Leap of Grace: The Hanuman Chalisa, the CD/DVD set Into the Bliss and his latest… Love, Peace, Chant. His live Kirtans and concerts are joyous, ecstatic, uplifting and exploding with energy. A dedicated Kirtan Troubadour, David tours throughout the world with MIRA, a celebrated devotional singer, recording artist and percussionist. He is also the author of a book on meditation entitled Merging with Grace and the founder of Yoga On Main in Philadelphia. www.davidnewmanmusic.com • www.myspace.com/davidnewmandurgadas www.nettwerk.com • www.nutonemusic.com
“David Newman/Durga Das is a rising star in the international sub genre of chant artist or mantric musician”.
NPR’s – All Things Considered
“Though David Newman has a deep sense of tradition in his music, there is also something thoughtful, poetic, personal, and almost romantic about his songs.” — Yoga Journal
“David’s music especially his voice elevates the ear and then allows one to drive deep into the sweetness of the heart”. — Sharon Gannon, Founder Jivamukti Yoga
“David Newman’s Lotus Feet is in my top 10 list of CD’s I can’t live without. — New Age Retailer
“David Newman’s Into the Bliss is one of the best Kirtan CDs we have heard.”— Yoga Magazine
“Listening to David Newman’s Leap of Grace is like a mysterious/mystical musical journey, in which your thoughts are purified and elevated.”— Yoga Journal
“David Newman’s music is a river of Love”.— Bhagavan Das, Legendary Devotional Singer
“Prepare to be swept along helplessly to the current of this euphoric and divinely inspired Kirtan recording…You’ll beg for them not to finish…You’ll regret not having this one in your Yoga music collection.”— Australian Yoga Life Magazine
“Lotus Feet has become one of my favorite albums these days, which is no small thing given how much music in the sacred world genre I listen to daily.” — Leanne Wood, Co-Founder – Sacred Sounds Radio
