spiriTunes #1: Sheila Chandra

Posted in Art and Creativity, Featured Articles | 7 comments

Aug 22, 14

FRIDAY . ART & CREATIVITY

Con voi!

Here at the Damanhur Blog, we’re excited to experiment with new things, and one is a series of articles about music of the world, in a series called spiriTunes music reviews! These reviews are written based on the knowledge and preferences of a few of our citizens who collaborate on the blog. This first review is written by Tritone Crisantemo (Newt Crysanthemum).

We cover music with a frequency and message that is resonant with the Damanhur philosophy and way of life. We are excited to share what we feel is great spiritually inspired music while discovering the diversity of the many artists in the world. If you are an artist who is living with a sense of spiritual integrity and you also incorporate it into your music, we’d love to hear it and maybe even write a review to publish on the blog! Be in touch with us through our contact page. (You don’t need to click the boxes, just fill out the contact form and write in the comments to ‘spiriTunes’ sending us links to your website, bio, music, videos, etc.)

Enjoy!

Sheila Chandra:

Sheila Savithri Elizabeth Chandra started her career as an actress in 1979 in the BBC drama Grange Hill. She soon ran into the group Monsoon and sang with them on the album The Third Eye, hitting number 12 on the English hitlist with the track “Ever So Lonely” (see video below). The sonic explorations of Monsoon reach beyond cultural boundaries, mixing the western synth-pop experience of the 1980s with the eastern drone style music, like in the track “Wings of Dawn” (check out the video below) where Sheila sings in the Hindi language. Later she was signed to the IndiPop record label which is not to be mistaken for IndiePop – a newer term describing a totally different musical culture – and even later she was signed to Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label where she went on to make more experimental albums and drone oriented music as ABoneCroneDrone. An edited version of “3” from this music project was recently featured in the TV series Heroes.

I decided to write about Sheila’s music as our very first review because she played a major role in incorporating an eastern spiritual message into modern western music. Her powerful and extremely diverse voice is just wonderful to listen to, and with such a wide variety of musical style, it would be strange not to find something that you’d like. If you are more a pop-oriented person like me, I would recommend the early Monsoon records. If you are looking for a more meditative state or music for healing, I would go for Zen Kiss, which is an absolute masterpiece in that genre.

Unfortunately, Sheila now suffers from BMS, a type of oral dysaesthesia without a known cure, which has rendered her unable to use her voice, and she now communicates through basic sign language and written notes. So, if you read this Sheila, please know that I love your music and the spiritual and cultural depth that you bring with your singing. You are welcome to come to Damanhur to receive Pranoself, pranatherapy, and other modalities as part of your healing process.

-Tritone Crisantemo-

Tritone Crisantemo is a Damanhurian A citizen with an education in studio technics, mixing and sound design, currently making music in Damanhur in many collaborations, including drumming for bands and concerts.

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