Line Up

Brent Kuecker has played music his whole life and many idioms and studied classical and Jazz music in college. He started playing in Kirtan bands in 2002 and has toured internationally with Kirtan leaders such as Shantala and Dave Stringer. Brent has played live music for Yoga workshops and classes for many master teachers and also leads kirtan and teaches music, mantra, and more in Bellingham, WA.

Brian Allen is a proud member of THE TONK HONKYS a southern rock/alt-country band founded in Los Angeles in 2004 by Alabama natives. He is a drummer who also enjoys playing bass, guitar and writing songs. He and Spring Groove have played together at yoga retreats in Esalen, CA and Crete, GR. Brian works as an audio engineer for television which has taken him all over the world. However, he is grateful to UDAYA for bringing him to Bulgaria for the very first time. 

thetonkhonkys.com

Petar Yordanov Buny is the person behind the project Bunyverse. He records and creates an entire musical performance using a loop station. Musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, Buny is also one of the co-founders of Oratniza, a Bulgarian ethno bass band. Among his instruments are Peruvian Cajon, African kalimba, bass guitar, Tapan, djembe, hang drum, Oval and loop station.

bunyverse.com

Caleb Veazey is a guitarist, composer, educator, and community leader currently residing in Los Angeles. Caleb’s work as a teaching artist with the Community Arts Partnership has solidified his place as an artist/activist/educator in the urban Los Angeles Community. Caleb has appeared with Three Dog Night, Bennie Maupin, Rufus Reid, Kenneth Whalum, Joe LaBarbera, Larry Koonse, and Byron Stripling. Caleb’s compositions have been featured on multiple albums, compilations, and numerous performances. Caleb attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual arts, has a bachelor's degree in Jazz performance from Arizona State University and a MFA in Jazz performance from California Institute of the Arts.

Christo Karam Pellani is a master drummer/percussionist, educator, and sound healer residing in LA. He’s a recording artist, producer, event coordinator, and rhythm awareness/drum circle facilitator. He is a certified REMO Health Rhythms drum circle facilitator. His unique interactive drumming/percussion curriculum RHYTHMAGIC ™, utilizes instructional exercises and games promoting creative expression through rhythm awareness. He has released 3 critically acclaimed recordings on his independent label, Soundformation.

soundformation.com

Christopher Payne is a multi-faceted drummer and percussionist. Christopher is a member of the internationally recognized orchestra, MESTO, specializing in Middle Eastern Classical music, and the Indian/Jazz fusion group Mahadev. He is an active free-lance musician performing and recording drums and percussion for independent films, commercials, jazz ensembles, various bands, and singer-songwriters. He earned his MFA degree in drum set/world percussion from the California Institute of the Arts and a B.M. in classical percussion and drum set from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Christopher resides in Los Angeles and is an adjunct faculty member at Pierce College, Loyola Marymount, and Los Angeles City College.

www.drummercpayne.com

Cooper is a kirtan artist residing in LA. Committed to the practice of Bhakti Yoga, Cooper has traveled extensively studying and sharing the ancient art. In his words, “I love that silence at the end of a chant. It’s as if you work the whole song to get to that point of silence. Then it’s just you and the Divine for a moment.” Cooper sings with his band, Gandharvas Kirtan.

Deeveaux produces a sound experience that evokes a mindful synergy and cosmic energy on the dance floor. Whether in a warehouse or poolside, he is with the crowd, adapting and playing with them, not just for them. With over 12 years experience, his genres range from nu disco to electro to house to techno, and he is committed to constantly pushing the edges of his music production and DJ set curation. He has shared the stage with renowned DJs and producers such as Steve Aoki, Big Gigantic, Christian Martin, and Random Rab and played some legendary sets at festivals such as Burning Man and Treefort Music Fest in his hometown of Boise, ID where he lives with his guitar-slaying son and beloved pup. Find his music on System Recordings, Braslive & Soundcloud. 

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In DJ Chakra Khan's universe, the dance floor is as activating as the yoga studio, the studio as silky as the floor. In her classes, the award-winning studio owner and world-traveling instructor, Marisa Weppner, redefines "yoga music" on a weekly basis, dropping knowledge culled from her other life as a vinyl record collector and community radio programmer. She brings this mindfulness and meticulous music curation with her to clubs and house parties, where her smooth, sultry, and spontaneous sets cover a spectrum of sound encompassing indie, electronic, funk, reggae, hip-hop and a healthy dose of old school hits from the 80s and 90s. Roll out your mat or roll out to the club and explore your edges with Chakra Khan.

Erhard Dengl is a hammered dulcimer and tabla player from Munich, Germany. He learned hammered dulcimer from Bavarian folk musicians and tabla from Taalyogi Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. In the world of yoga he has toured intensively with Spring Groove, Dave Stringer and Petros Haffenrichter. He also played with the Kirtanyas, Arjun Baba, Saatya & Pari , Jason Kalidas, Miles Shrewsbery and many more. His music is influenced by silence, mountains, forests and the ocean.

Gina Salá is a vocalist, composer, teacher and kirtan leader. She began chanting in her early childhood years living in a Hindu ashram and has deepened her practices in extended time living in the Himalayas, a Buddhist monastery and in India with her teachers, Vagish Shastriji, Pt. Ritwik Sanyal and others in sanskrit, mantra, sound tantra and classical Indian singing. 

ginasala.com

Ivan Shopov is а painter, musician, producer, composer, aesthete and an innovator. Aleksandra Vassileva and Sibina Radenkova are the vocal group Avigeya which preserves the authentic Bulgarian folklore and introduces it in a new way. The fusion of Ivan Shopov and Avigeya create a sound between contemporary electronic sound and the beautiful and distinctive folklore elements and lead to the creation of the album "Kanatitsa".

facebook.com/abcd.ivanshopov

Jason Kalidas is Bansuri player, healing sound artist, Tabla player, overtone singer, Nada/ Bhakti yoga workshop facilitator and analog electronica artist. Jason performs Indian classical concerts on Bansuri throughout India and Europe with acclaimed Tabla players Amit Mishra and Sirishkumar Manji. Composing music for dance has been a big part of Jason’s work as well crossing many genre of music including jazz, drum n bass, psi- chill, world fusion and various electronica. 

Singer/songwriter and chant artist, Joey Lugassy is renowned for his non-sectarian approach to kirtan, viewing Hindu deities as archetypal metaphors. His kirtan is a blend of original compositions, traditional Sanskrit, and an occasional nod to familiar pop songs (Bowie, Beatles, Van Morrison and others) 'that all reflect and give insight to this sacred path we're on together.' Joey tours the globe performing, leading kirtans and workshops and when the stars align; playing, sweating and praying all over the world with wife and world renowned yoga teacher, Micheline Berry.

joeylugassy.com

Percussionist. Composer. Producer, Masood Ali Khan creates a unique musical sound with his mesmerizing combination of the hang drum and sacred mantras that inspire a meditative spiritual experience. Masood enchants audiences in yoga studios and music festivals worldwide with the evocative combination of his voice with the haunting quality of the hang drum. He has released 2 sacred mantra albums.  

masoodalikhan.com

Miles Shrewsbery is an American tabla artist and co-owner of Avaaz Records. Miles has performed all over the world in prestigious venues such as the Symphony Space, NYC, Smithsonian Museum, DC, Tokyo Museum of Modern Art, Royal Horticultural Hall, London, and St. Paul Cathedral, NYC. Currently, Miles is an artist-teacher in residence for the Center for World Music in San Diego, CA.

milesshrewsbery.wordpress.com

Nabin Shrestha, is a classical tabla virtuoso of the highest order. He completed his Master's degree from Gandharva Music University. Nabin had a successful career in Nepal as a performing and recording artist. He is also a founder of a successful band named Murchchhana. His Classical fusion band, Jam Key Jam performs Hindustani music, traditional Nepalese music, fusion and collaborates with many artists from around the world. 

rhythmoftabla.com

Dr. Neelamjit Dhillon is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and composer from Vancouver, now based in LA. He is skilled in both North Indian classical and American jazz music. His primary instruments are the bansuri, saxophone, and tabla which he continues to study under the tutelage of world-renowned maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain. Neelamjit tours regularly with Snatam Kaur and has performed around the world.

neelamjit.com

Oliwa is producer/DJ Oliver Newell residing in Ojai, CA. Endowed with a rich musical performance and composition background, and a fascination with the future, Oliwa’s unique world of electronic music explores subtle and fantastical landscapes as he weaves together meditative textures with complex rhythms from an array of influences. He’s collaborated with Jonathan Wilson, Dawes, Sheela Bringi, Dave Stringer and He’s My Brother, She’s My Sister.  

aliveandchanging.bandcamp.com

Punnu is an Indian vocalist, musician, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He performs Kirtan, Xtatic Kirtan, Indian Fusion, Indian Classical music, Sufi, Bollywood music as well as Sound Healing around the world. He has his own Kirtan Academy, is co-founder of Bhakti Bliss Fest in Switzerland and leads music workshops in combination with yoga & meditation. Punnu resides in Bali where he leads Meditation Teacher Trainings, Advanced Meditation Trainings, Reiki Trainings and Spiritual Awakening Courses.

punnuwasu.com

The ambient sound of Sabine’s Hang drum & Innersound, Anantar, Sensula, and guitar brings us into a state of inner peace from the orientation towards the outside and has a balancing and soothing effect on our nervous system. The Panart Hang drum & Innersound are magical, extraordinary and mystical instruments. They are “melodic percussion instruments from the 21st century”, which help us come to a state of deep relaxation.

Boyan Yanakiev and Seraphim Zlatev are handpan musicians from Sofia, Bulgaria. They are street artists performing and travelling through the country, spreading their ideas and financing their side projects such as musical performances and building the foundations for the new and exciting initiatives to come. They also participate in the rather well-known choir "Choir Bouquet", which allows them to further hone their skills as musicians.

Indian American musician Sheela Bringi sings and plays a 36-string harp, the Indian harmonium and bansuri flute. Her debut album, Incantations, is rooted in India’s classical music tradition and the beauty of its mantras, as well as a groundbreaking exploration of American jazz and blues. Sheela holds a master’s degree in North Indian Music from Cal Arts. She teaches at Loyola Marymount University's Yoga Studies Program in LA.

shebrings.com

Spring Groove is an International Touring Artist with 12 CDs currently based in LA. She is a former Broadway performer and creator of Y.U.M.M.Y. Time ™ Your Ultimate Music, Meditation Yoga Time designed for seniors. Spring holds a BFA from The Boston Conservatory and is a certified yoga teacher. She is a dynamic instructor dedicated to Delivering Musical Medicine & Peace of Mind. 

springGroove.com

Smokin Jo is one of the most talented DJs to emerge from the British dance music scene, her undeniably cutting edge sound has carved her a niche in clubland. Jo has had a truly successful career and over her 30 years behind the decks she has played in pretty much every corner of the globe and in every major nightclub. She is still the only female DJ to have ever won DJ Magazine’s coveted DJ of The Year Award. Jo's international credibility has led her to work alongside numerous iconic figures in the world of music, film and fashion. One thing’s for sure that with bags of energy and a wealth of experience to draw-on it seems Jo still has plenty up her sleeve for the months and years ahead.

Sol Rising's original soundscapes evoke feelings of bliss throughout an eclectic mix of hip-hop, funk, soul, reggae, EDM and electronic dance beats. Born in Vancouver BC, Brandon began meditating at age four with a walking mantra technique. His mother took him to visit numerous spiritual teachers, who inspired him on the spiritual path he walks today. As a teenager, he became a hip hop fanatic. His rooted interest in hip hop led him to learning the art of scratching — using turntables as musical instruments. Sol Rising soon became one of America’s top scratch DJs, winning second place at the DMC, the world’s most prestigious DJ competition.

Steve Gorn is a master bansuri flautist. He has performed Indian Classical Music and new American Music on the bansuri bamboo flute in concerts and festivals throughout the world. His unique blend of Indian music and contemporary world music can be heard on recordings with Paul Simon, Glen Velez, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Winter, Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, Tony Levin, Adam Rudolph, Richie Havens, and Deepak Chopra.

stevegorn.com

TMax is a musical mentor & solo artist in the L.A. music scene. Originally from Boston, MA, Todd refers to his  music as "heart & soul.” As a guitarist, vocalist, percussionist, & composer blending elements of blues, folk, rock, soul & gospel, he has worked with artists including Chaka Khan, Taj Mahal, Michelle Shocked, Babyface, Katy Perry, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sarah Brightman, and Kamasi Washington.

facebook.com/teemaxx