BIO

The guitar player Ronaldo Leite de Freitas - or simply called Carioca - was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1955.

He started very early with his musical education. From experiences in rock bands he passed on to study different styles of music and to master the knowledge of his instruments.

In 1979/80 he finished his first album "Misterios da Amazonia". Afterthe 80ies he has been working as a music teacher, as an arranger of more than thirty independent LPs, as a composer for theatre, dance and movie. Due to constant touring in Europe, he also started to live in Switzerland. Together with Ted Barlocher he founded the "Escola de Samba do Apito". Arranging, composing, producing soundtracks, recordings for studios and television soon characterized his work which started to be known in Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia as well as in South and Central America.

His first LP was followed by "Luar do Sertao", "Ciranda", "7 dias 7 instrumentos, Musica", "caRIOca", "Danças de Caboclo", "Beija Flor", "In Circle", "Meeting in the Forest" and "Danças Brasileiras".

The purpose of the last one was to translate Brasilian rhythms and dances into a happy and folkloristic version of Brasilian music. "Danças Brasileiras" reveals the style of chamber music, which inspired suites and reminds of little popular pieces of dance music.

For the performance of "Danças Brasileiras" Carioca invited cellist Dimos Goudaroulis and bass player Celio Barros.

Together they create an atmosphere purely instrumental, though without losing the Brasilian soul, humour, the dance and happiness of the Brasilian art of music.
Repertoire: Variaçois sobre um tema, Vôo livre, Baiao, Maracatu, Maxice, Bailado, Sambando, Forro, Fafieira, Quadrilha, Serenata.

Since 1986 he travels world wide performing and giving workshops in countries like France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Germany, Canada, USA and Israel.

BIO

California-based singer/songwriter Jason Mraz makes laid-back, melodic pop with stylistic nods toward folk, jam band music, hip-hop, and soft rock. Since coming to the public's attention with his 2002 hit single "The Remedy (Don't Worry)", Mraz has proven himself to be a reliable pop craftsman whose crowd-pleasing melodies can encompass both cheeky humor and earnest sincerity.

Born in Mechanicsville, Virginia, in 1977, Mraz grew up amidst the sounds of the Dave Matthews Band and local roots musicians the Agents of Good Roots. However, it was Mraz's interest and participation in musical theater that served as his first introduction to music. Following high school, he moved to New York to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, but dropped out a year later when he took up the guitar and began to focus on songwriting. Nonetheless, Mraz's training as a vocalist would later show itself on his debut album, which was marked by the pure clarity of his tenor range.

After busking around New York, Mraz eventually returned to Virginia; in 1999, however, he made his way out West and settled in San Diego, California, having been drawn to the city's coffee house scene and its historical support of singer/songwriters, most notably Jewel. Mraz began playing shows and soon landed a weekly residency at the local hot spot Java Joe's, which had previously played host to Jewel during the early stages of her career. He also formed a duo with drummer Noel "Toca" Rivera, who accompanied Mraz's acoustic material by banging the djembe. Together, the musicians honed a live show that featured as much comedic banter as actual music.

Over the next two years, Mraz's following expanded outside of the San Diego limits and began to encompass Los Angeles, garnering the attention of record labels. Mraz signed to Elektra Records in early 2002 and returned to Virginia to write and record his debut album, a project that saw him working with producer John Alagía (the Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer) and his high school heroes, the Agents of Good Roots, who became his backing band. The resulting effort, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, was released that same November, blending Mraz's early influences with elements of country, roots rock, and coffee house folk. The buoyant first single "Remedy (I Won't Worry)," which Mraz had co-written with pop hitmakers the Matrix, proved to be a big hit, and Mraz headed out on the road to support it. One of those shows, an October 2003 date at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, was later documented on Mraz's summer 2004 live release Tonight, Not Again. The album tided his fans over until July 2005, when the songwriter returned with the sophomore studio effort Mr. A-Z. Mraz's popularity reached a new high in 2008 with the release of We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, which peaked at number three and spawned his first chart-topping single, "I'm Yours." The concert album, Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess: Live on Earth, arrived in 2009, followed by his fourth studio album, Love Is a Four Letter Word, in 2012. In the summer of 2014, Mraz returned with Yes!, which featured backing from the all-female L.A. folk-rock outfit Raining Jane; it was preceded by the single "Love Someone." ~ Christina Saraceno, Rovi

BIO

Tina Malia’s prodigious talent spans many musical genres and disciplines. As a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer she has distinguished herself in styles ranging from pop to world devotional to electronic. Her own diverse and growing catalog of albums is complemented by studio and live work with iconic artists such as Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Jai Uttal, Kenny Loggins, India.Arie, Idan Raichel and Bassnectar.

There are two unifying factors in all of this. One is Tina’s remarkable voice. An instrument of exceptional purity, it can be as tender as an angel’s sigh or as powerful as a deep ocean current. The other unifying factor in Tina’s musical universe is her vision — an all-encompassing artistic perspective that embraces many of the world’s musical cultures, languages and spiritual traditions.

Creativity and diversity are her very lifeblood. Of Korean and Yugoslavian descent, Tina was tutored in classical piano and voice from an early age by her mother. But it was her dad who fostered her interest in choral singing and popular music forms.

“When I was 15 or so, performing in choirs for years and doing musical theater at school, my dad bought me my first cheap guitar. And I started listening to all the great women of folk music at the time — Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, the Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco, Alison Kraus and all of those wonderful artists. That became my mainstay for years. I started writing my own songs around that time.”

Tina’s self produced debut album, Shores of Avalon, appeared in 2000. Steeped in poetic Celtic, Pagan and Native American mystery, the disc announced the arrival of a major new talent. Not long after the album’s release, Tina met pioneering world devotional artist Jai Uttal, who recruited her to sing in his groundbreaking ensemble – the Pagan Love Orchestra. It was through Jai that Tina had her introduction to the rich spiritual tradition of Sanskrit mantra chanting.

“When I first started performing with Jai,” she says. “the mantras hadn’t quite seeped into me yet. But a few years later I was going through a difficult time. Jai noticed this and asked, ‘Have you ever tried really chanting mantra? I hadn’t. So I started chanting mantra every day and, sure enough, it completely brought me out of the depression I was in. To this day I attribute my sense of well-being and where I am in my life to chanting mantra. It is so simple and yet so extraordinary.”

Tina’s love of mantra is reflected on her 2005 album Jaya Bhagavan, notable for its highly original fusion of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and world/folk textures with Indian musical traditions. It was followed in 2006 by The Silent Awakening, more of a pop singer/songwriter disc, but infused with a poetic lyricism that reflects a deep spiritual longing.

BIO

Snatam Kaur is an American Kirtan singer and peace activist raised in the Kundalini Yoga tradition. She has taught and shared Naad Yoga, Kundalini Yoga & Meditation and Kirtan through her recorded CDs, concerts, and workshops for the past fifteen years. For over thirty years, she studied with and grew up at the feet of her spiritual teacher, Yogi Bhajan, while he was in his physical form. At the core of this practice is an essential experience of peace which has made it accessible to people of all walks of life to receive its healing effects. Snatam Kaur has an amazing ability to transform traditional chants into a contemporary sound that appeals to the modern ear and awakens an ancient yearning in the soul. While traveling the world on tour she also teaches yoga and meditation to children and adults alike, a part of her commitment to give people tools for a daily experience of inner peace.

BIO

"Shimshai is a heart-centered musical prodigy and one of the most gifted performers I've ever experienced". ~Bruce Pavitt (Founder of Seattle based Sub-Pop Records, Nirvana’s first record label)

Whether singing the ancient Sanskrit mantras of India, age-old Hebrew prayers, traditional folklore of South America, or performing his original works of divine inspiration, Shimshai’s music invokes a sentiment of ancestral devotion and a dedication to higher consciousness. A self-proclaimed seeker of truth, described by many as possessing the voice of an angel, Shimshai is gifted with the innate ability to deliver his message flawlessly in several languages; most profoundly the universal language of Love and Oneness.

Shimshai’s fans range from young children to great grandparents, it seems as though people representing all walks of life, races, and religions are drawn to Shimshai’s recorded music and live performances. International performances in places like Colombia, Holland, Switzerland, England, France, Israel, Finland, Canada, and Germany have been helping to make Shimshai a household name in the worldwide reggae/world music/spiritual community.

Surrounded by music from birth and formally trained on piano in his native state of Washington, today Shimshai performs effortlessly on guitar and other strings, piano, flute and woodwinds. He plays many of the instruments on his self-composed and self-produced albums, 'I sense your Presence' (2001), 'Toward the One' (2003), and 'Live on Maui' (2003), all which have been highly revered by the worldwide spiritual community. His collaboration with fellow artist Tina Malia, 'Jaya Bhagavan' (2004), has also been met with tremendous success, being signed to the independent record label Spirit Voyage in 2005, and 'Deliverance' (2006), showcases his abilities as a solo performer. 'Alianza' (2008), is a versatile world fusion studio CD that features multiple languages and ethnicity as well as world spirituality. Finally, ‘True Heart’ (2012) takes us back to more of Shimshai’s roots in reggae music with the full power Seraphim Sound System behind him. He continues to offer his talents to various studio projects, including current collaborations with traditional healers and several undertakings with indigenous communities throughout South and Latin America.

BIO

Sasha Rose is a singer/songwriter/dj/producer, formerly from the Sunshine Coast, near Vancouver, BC, Canada. Born into a musical family, she started learning guitar, flute, African djembe, and piano at age 5. She sang in a Children's chamber choir from age 9 to 13, touring in Europe at age 10, singing in cathedrals and castles all over the continent. From age 16, she began an extensive professional touring career which took her through the US, Australia, Canada & Europe. She has performed as a member of many acts including Freedom Tribe, Sasha Butterfly Band, Prezident Brown Band, Hamsa Lila, the Funginears, Shimshai, Tina Malia, Goddess Alchemy Project & Heavyweight Dub Champion. She has guested with countless acts including Random Rab, Anasia, J. Boogie, Vibesquad, Mimosa, Eoto, Zilla, Lynx, Steve Kimock, Jamie Janover, Everyone Orchestra and others. In 2009, she performed in a choir backing Joan Baez.

She has released two solo acoustic albums as Sasha Butterfly, Grace(2001) and Creation Song (2004). She has recorded supporting vocals for about 30 albums. She is featured on 2 Random Rab albums including the recent Vissureal which placed in the top ten on Itunes Electronica chart, the Interchill realease Gathering of the Tribes in her project Kinship, Mimosa’s 2009 album Hostilis & Tea Leaf Green’s 2008 album Raise Up The Tent. In 2011 she co-produced Qi Goddess, geared towards massage and meditation, to great success.

In her DJ sets, she creates luscious soundscapes and thick bass lines bridged by her live soulful angelic voice and flute playing. Her original lyrics bring awareness and a deep earthy connection to her listeners. She has been touring extensively for 14 years, and brings all the flavors of her experience to the stage.

BIO

Layering traditional kirtan with instantly accessible melodies and modern instrumentation, Krishna Das has been called yoga's "rock star." With a remarkably soulful voice that touches the deepest chord in even the most casual listener, Krishna Das – known to friends, family, and fans as simply KD – has taken the call-and-response chanting out of yoga centers and into concert halls, becoming a worldwide icon and the best-selling western chant artist of all time. His album 'Live Ananda' (released January 2012) was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Age album category.

KD spent the late '60's traveling across the country as a student of Ram Dass, and in August 1970, he finally made the journey to India, which led him to Ram Dass' own beloved guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known to most as Maharaj-ji.

Given the name Krishna Das, KD began to chant as part of following the path of Bhakti yoga – the yoga of devotion.