Yoga Lounge Liner Notes
As the practice of yoga continues to grow in the modern world, a contemporary yoga soundtrack
is being crafted by an expanding group of yogi-musicians, producers and DJs. Artists across the
globe are creating fresh music designed for yoga, meditation and inspiration that brings together
traditional instruments with modern electronic textures and beats. Some are merging devotional
mantras (heart-felt chants for elevating consciousness) with electronica, while others take a more
ambient, instrumental route. Both directions create cinematic sonic vistas that draw the listener
into a relaxed and contemplative state of mind. Their songs are played daily in yoga classes
around the world. In our fast-paced society, it’s so important to have music that can help us slow
down, get centered and savor life.
Drawn from this burgeoning catalog of modern yoga music, Yoga Lounge features light
electronica, transportive grooves, evocative blends of world instruments and soothing mantras.
Whether you’re a yogi who wants to move more gracefully through your practice, or someone
simply seeking a relaxing soundtrack for day-to-day life, this collection is designed for you.
1. Bahramji and Maneesh de Moor
Dreamcatcher
Bahramji is a singer and multi-instrumentalist born in the Kurdish city of Kermanshah, Persia
(now Iran). He plays three Persian instruments: the santoor, which has metal strings that are
struck with hammers, the three-stringed setâr and the ney flute. As a child, Bahramji heard
ancient Sufi melodies, which are the inspiration for his music today. After living and performing in
India for a long time, he moved to the island of Ibiza, in Spain, where he met many other
musicians, DJs and producers. They inspired him to change his style to an ethno/ambient fusion
that combines ancient and traditional sounds into a modern and electronic soundscape.
Maneesh de Moor is an accomplished keyboardist, composer and producer based in Amsterdam.
He specializes in the blending of ethnic and popular music with natural and electronic sounds.
The Farsi lyrics in “Dreamcatcher” translate as: “I saw a being tall like a cypress, hair like the
night and a face like the moon / I set out on my way for one more glimpse of you, my beloved,
you are my witness, love and blessing / All is beautiful!”
2. Jai Uttal & Ben Leinbach
Rama Bolo
Jai Uttal is a Grammy-nominated pioneer in the world music community. His eclectic East-meetsWest sound has put his music at the forefront of the world fusion movement. Uttal’s musical roots
embrace a rich variety of cultures and traditions that span the globe and the centuries. From the
folk music of the Appalachian Mountains to the passionate strains of Bengali street singers and
beyond, Uttal’s creations always seek to distill the essence of diverse musical forms.
Ben Leinbach is an award-winning producer, composer, audio engineer and multi-instrumentalist.
He is regarded as one of the leading producers of contemporary yoga and meditation music. Uttal
and Leinbach’s renowned yoga soundtracks are played in classes around the world.
Rama Bolo is a mantra that translates as “Sing Rama’s name and glorify that aspect of God that
supports and nourishes divine love.” This is one of the many chants from the kirtan tradition of
India that Uttal believes holds a transformative power and healing energy. By singing these
prayers, we join a stream of consciousness and devotion that has been flowing for centuries.
3. Donna De Lory
Om Tare Tuttare
Before dedicating her life to singing sacred mantras and lyrics of spiritual aspiration, Donna De
Lory traveled the globe for 20 years as a back-up singer and dancer for Madonna. She also
appeared in the documentary film Truth or Dare. De Lory’s own music combines sparkling pop
with a deeply felt sense of spirituality, and has won her a strong fan base in the yoga/conscious
living community. Embracing styles as diverse as Celtic, Middle Eastern, Indian classical and
contemporary electronica, De Lory’s musical perspective is as wide as the world itself and her
music has become a beloved soundtrack in yoga classes around the globe.
This song features two classic mantras from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition sung to create a state
of unconditional love, gentle forgiveness and deep compassion. Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha is an
ancient mantra related to Tara, a female Buddha who is known as “the mother of liberation.” This
mantra is sung to liberate living beings from suffering. Om Mani Padme Hum, which translates
“hail to the jewel in the lotus,” is also a widely practiced mantra for awakening compassion and
enlightenment.
4. DJ Drez
Nectar Drop
DJ Drez blends yesterday’s roots music with the innovative urban beats of today. His
accomplishments during his gradual evolution from hip-hop DJ to world music tastemaker have
made him one of the top DJs and producers in LA’s underground music scene. When he isn’t
producing in the studio, spinning his eclectic, organic mixes at underground clubs or jamming with
local artists, you can find him at yoga festivals and studios creating the perfect flow to accompany
classes. Drez is also a certified yoga instructor who teaches privately in Los Angeles and spends
time helping fellow musicians with their yoga practice.
“Nectar Drop” is an instrumental piece that merges the evocative sounds of many traditional
Indian instruments, such as tabla, sarangi, santoor and bansuri flute with a modern groove,
perfect for accompanying yoga practice.
5. Niraj Chag with Japjit Kaur
Sapano Se Pucho
Born in Southampton, England, self-taught musician Niraj Chag is a world-renowned interpreter
of Asian classical and folk styles, mixing modern production with Eastern and Western music
traditions. Working on a huge range of projects, from albums to film scores, and theater to live
events, Chag has been able to use the roots of Eastern and Western classical music in ever more
inventive ways to stir yearning, wonder and empathy in his listeners. Having embraced
technology from a young age, he is one of the few artists working on such large-scale projects to
not only compose, but also to play and mix all of the instruments himself. The vocalist featured on
this track, Japjit Kaur, is a prolific singer-songwriter and actor.
The Hindi lyrics of “Sapano Se Pucho” translate as: “It passes so quickly, this cycle of life / Close
your eyes for a second and an eternity has passed / How strange this is, nothing can stop its tide
/ All efforts would be fruitless / Now question those dreams / Ask them which is real / And your
memories why they exist / Enquire of sorrow how it feels to be wrapped in bliss / And the architect
of life / What creation truly is?”
6. Maneesh de Moor
Cosmic Flow
Maneesh de Moor is an accomplished keyboardist, composer and producer based in Amsterdam.
After studying classical, pop and world music, he mastered the art of sound sculpting and sound
synthesis. As a modern-day musician, de Moor loves the cutting edge of music technology as
much as the pristine beauty and purity of great acoustic recording. He specializes in the blending
of ethnic/traditional styles with contemporary elements and grooves. Over the years, de Moor has
collaborated with many musicians from around the globe, including Praful, Bahramji, Deva
Premal and Prem Joshua. He has also played concerts throughout the world as a pianist /
keyboardist.
“Cosmic Flow” comes from de Moor’s album “SADHANA: an ethno-ambient journey into
Oneness.” The song features frame drum, ney flute, hang drum, piano and a variety of tranceinducing electronic sounds that support the deeply focused breathing and motion of yoga
practice.
7. Reema Datta and Ferenz Kallos
Mahamrtyunjaya Mantra
Reema Datta, born into a family of yogis, is a yoga teacher, musician, author and philanthropist.
Datta teaches yoga workshops around the world. Recognizing the love yogis have for the ancient
Sanskrit language, she co-authored the book Sanskrit Words for Yoga, Chant and Meditation.
She founded the Usha Foundation to help bring yoga to places with little or no access to yoga,
including battered women’s shelters, drug rehabilitation centers, nursing homes and hospitals.
She has also recorded two albums of mantra music with Ferenz Kallos.
Ferenz Kallos is an accomplished violinist, composer, arranger, conductor and sound engineer
immersed in music since he was a child. Kallos’ music ranges from classical and world to new
age and techno. His studies in Buddhism and meditation have led him to contribute to a variety of
spiritual music projects.
“Mahamrtyunjaya Mantra” is an invocation to Lord Shiva, a reminder of the greater consciousness
and love that holds us all in the midst of joy, sorrow, life and the beyond. During Datta’s
childhood, her parents had a recording of this mantra that they played very softly in her home
throughout the day and night. For Datta, this mantra has been a rhythmic vibration that protects
and guides, heals and rejuvenates.
8. All India Radio
Evening Star (Early Mix)
All India Radio is the brainchild of Australia’s Martin Kennedy a musician, artist and fan of Pink
Floyd and old school ambient music. While forming the project in 1999, Kennedy said he found
inspiration from a friend’s recording of Indian street sounds. His music is mostly instrumental and
blends melodies, ambient sounds and cinematic elements. Kennedy also writes music for
television and is acclaimed for a series of collaborations with Steve Kilbey from the band The
Church.
“Evening Star (Early Mix)” is a trancey, downtempo song that features ambient guitar, drum kit
and atmospheric electronic flourishes ideal for accompanying a mellow yoga practice.
9. Sean Johnson & The Wild Lotus Band
Peace Song (Putumayo Version)
New Orleans world music trio Sean Johnson (vocals/harmonium) & The Wild Lotus Band (Alvin
Young, fretless bass/guitar, and Gwendolyn Colman, vocals/percussion) merge ancient mantras,
rock, gospel and world grooves to create a dynamic soundtrack for modern yogis and music
lovers. Johnson, also a yoga teacher, is the founder of Wild Lotus Yoga studios in New Orleans.
In addition to their concerts, the band also loves to inspire people through their unique Bhakti On
The Mat yoga classes – weaving imaginative storytelling, yoga, poetry and live music. They are
the first kirtan ensemble to play the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and one of very few
kirtan groups whose music has reached the Billboard charts.
“Peace Song” is a response to the war and conflict between people of different religions, races
and ideologies – a call to peace that honors what is universal, and connects us as human beings,
rather than what divides us. This is a new version of a song that was originally written in 2004 for
a labyrinth walking meditation practice at The Parliament of the World Religions Meeting in
Barcelona, Spain. Participants from many different religious traditions, wearing their ceremonial
robes, walked the labyrinth together in solidarity, listening to the song.
10. Stevin McNamara
Prajna’s Dream (Remix)
Stevin McNamara’s musical path began when he started learning piano at a young age,
immersing himself in the local township jive and gospel choirs of his native South Africa, as well
as jazz, blues and rock imported from the U.S. and U.K. He pursued more formal training in the
U.S. at Berklee College of Music in Boston and began playing sitar under the tutelage of Ram
Chakravarty of Benares, India. McNamara also became a professional recording engineer.
McNamara’s music is heavily influenced by the concept of raga, a traditional form of Indian music.
The word raga means “that which colors the mind.” It is not only a scale or some fixed sequence
of notes - it is considered a living entity (like a God or Goddess). When correctly performed – at
the appropriate time of the day or season of the year - a spiritual connection between raga and
musician and audience occurs.
“Prajna’s Dream (Remix)” is based on Rag Malgunjy, usually played at 2 a.m. when the spiritual
practitioner enters the state of consciousness known as Prajna, which means “the realization of
the emptiness of all phenomenal existence.” It is the final stage of the spiritual journey – the
highest wisdom and consciousness.
11. Mirabai Ceiba
Ra Ma Da Sa (Putumayo Version)
Mirabai Ceiba is a duo consisting of guitarist-singer Markus Sieber and singer-harpist-pianist
Angelika Baumbach. They each come from different parts of the world: Sieber is East German;
Baumbach was born in Tucson, Arizona to a Mexican mother and German father and she grew
up in a small village near Mexico City. Together, Baumbach and Sieber have forged an engaging
new style of world devotional music, blending Gurmukhi mantras from the Kundalini yoga tradition
with original songs in English and Spanish that reflect a Native American influence and also draw
words of wisdom from Rumi, Thich Nhat Hanh, Guru Nanak and Yogi Bhajan. Their concerts are
group celebrations for peace that embody the duo’s profound belief in music as a universal
language uniting all the world’s peoples, cultures and traditions.
“Ra Ma Da Sa” is a mantra practiced in the Kundalini yoga tradition to tap into the energies of the
sun, moon, earth and the Infinite Spirit to bring deep healing.
12. MC Yogi
Shanti (Peace Out)
A native of Northern California, Nicholas Giacomini (MC Yogi) spent his formative years at a group home for
at-risk boys where, inspired by artists like the Beastie Boys and Run DMC, he began writing and performing his
own raps for friends at house parties. Hip-hop culture served as a soundtrack and creative outlet during MC
Yogi’s turbulent teenage years.
At age 18, on a whim, he joined his father for a yoga and meditation retreat with a renowned spiritual teacher
from India. Deeply moved by this unexpectedly powerful experience, MC Yogi devoted himself to learning
everything he could about the ancient discipline, studying the physical forms of yoga, as well as meditation and
devotional chanting. Now, by combining Indian music and mythology with electronica and infectious hip-hop
beats, MC Yogi creates an exciting new sound for a new generation of modern mystics, urban yogis and
conscious hip hoppers. He and his wife Amanda Giacomini own a yoga studio in Point Reyes, CA called Yoga
Toes.
“Shanti (Peace Out)” is a meditative song with layers of deep electronic drones, waves, bansuri flute, traditional
Indian vocals by Rita Sahai and MC Yogi chanting the mantra “Om.” The song is perfect for accompanying
savasana, the final rest and relaxation stage of yoga practice.