New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Enfluence Group) "Winds of Samsara" (www.windsofsamsara.com), the first collaboration between world-renowned South African flutist
Wouter Kellerman and Indian Composer/Producer/Artist Ricky Kej is now available for pre-order on iTunes.com (https://bit.ly/1r3FTx8) and Amazon.com (https://tinyurl.com/kz7hyro )prior to its worldwide debut July 15, 2014. Two years in the making, the boundary-breaking New Age album spotlights the musical, cultural and political connections between
India and South Africa from Mahatma Gandhi to
Nelson Mandela. It boasts performances by more than 120 musicians from five continents and pushes the boundaries beyond what the New Age genre has ever produced. Winds of Samsara Mastering Engineer is 3-time GRAMMY® winner Gavin Lurssen (including 2001 Album of the Year for O,
Brother Where Art Thou? and 2008 Album of the Year for
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant's Raising Sand). A deluxe edition will be available later this year and includes a 5.1 HD Surround Sound mix by GRAMMY®-winner P.A. Deepak (2009 Best Sound Track Album Compilation from Best Picture Oscar® Winner Slumdog Millionaire). "Winds of Samsara" is distributed by Listen 2 Africa, a global company founded by GRAMMY®-winning producer and recording industry veteran Dave Love. Artists such as Ladysmith
Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba,
Oliver Mtukudzi, Hugh Masekela and other top talent from this musically and culturally rich region of the world are a part of Love's ongoing commitment to southern Africa. For more on the label: www.listen2.com
"Inspired by cultural connections, messages of world peace and positivity ring true from the core of the collaborative process. What bound us together was the desire to create ground-breaking music that could help affect positive change in the world, and we hope people are moved by it," said Kellerman and Kej.
About "Winds of Samsara"
What do Mahatma Gandhi,
Nelson Mandela, an Indian composer of timeless melodies, a vivaciously virtuosic South African flutist, and more than 120 spirited musicians from five continents all have in common? Discover the answer by pre-ordering "Winds of Samsara" today before it streets July 15, 2014.
A truly global effort, this album is the manifest dream of
Wouter Kellerman and Ricky Kej, an unlikely but star-matched collaborative duo. Drawing from disparate cultures, the pair has melded their creative influences into the unique and wonderful sonic gumbo contained within this album. Winds of Samsara speaks to themes of peace and positivity, spinning together forward-moving harmony, progressive composition, and technical prowess with a verve and passion never before attempted in the New Age genre.
About Ricky Kej
A true wizard of the keyboard, manuscript page, and recording studio, Kej has earned multiple awards and honors for his composition and production exploits. His projects include creating music for five feature films, twelve albums released by Universal Music, and over two thousand commercials seen by audiences around the world. A student of both Western and Indian classical music, Kej composed original works for the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup 2012, held in Dhaka, India; the ceremony was telecast to more than 200 countries and widely heralded for its artistry and execution. For such efforts, Kej was declared an "India Rules Artist" by VH1 in 2013. Kej was nominated for a Cannes Advertising award for his Nike Jingle, and his previous album Shanti Orchestra was nominated for a ZMR Award (New Orleans) and a Hollywood
Music and Media Award (LA).
Combining a keen sense of culture-jumping harmony, melody, and pacing, Kej synthesizes cutting-edge music technology and traditional instruments of both Indian and European origins into his work, both within the new age genre and beyond. He currently runs two state-of-the-art studios in Bangalore, the Raveolution Studios, where much of Winds of Samsara was developed from spark of an idea to finished album.
About
Wouter Kellerman
Globe-trotting flutist and composer
Wouter Kellerman's album Two Voices won the 2011 South African
Music Award (the nation's equivalent to the Grammy Awards in the United States) for Best Instrumental Album, reinforcing the artist's standing as one of his home country's most innovative musicians. Whether writing intricate instrumental compositions or delighting audiences with a magnetic alchemy of warmth and technical mastery, Kellerman finds his inspiration in the spaces between cultures and countries, genres and disciplines. He thrives on experimenting with the shades, textures, and colors that his flute can bring, pushing the instrument into new planes of creativity.
The last few years have seen Kellerman performing in Berlin, Shanghai, New York, Sydney, and beyond, including an appearance in front of 700-million people as part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Ceremony. Amidst such fun, Kellerman simultaneously channeled his musical and life experiences into collaborations with renowned Indian composer and producer Ricky Kej, often working with his partner digitally, from oceans apart, to sculpt the beautiful musical journey of Winds of Samsara.
Kellerman and GRAMMY-nominated pianist
Vincent Lyn will be performing at New York's famed Carnegie Hall on October 4, 2014. For more information, visit https://www.carnegiehall.com.
