Music
Press
"The English writer Rudyard Kipling famously penned the immortal line, 'East is East, West is West, and never the twain shall meet.' But then… Kipling had never been to a Prem Joshua concert – if he had, he’d have seen that East and West don’t only meet… they dance together!"
- S. Wadwani, L'Officiel, India
"Prem Joshua's music has the rare quality to transform any music club into a temple." - G. Myers, dj, musician and journalist, New York, USA
"Is Prem Joshua an Asian musician playing to the West or a Western musician playing to Asians? It does not really matter as one thing is for sure: he is the new sensation of the world music scene! His music captures both the true spirit of the Indian classical tradition and the hypnotic laid-back-ness of urban jazz and lounge."
- C.H. Loh, The Edge Magazine, Malaysia
"Prem Joshua's band reminds one of the pioneering efforts in Indo-fusion by such musicians as John McLaughlin, L. Shankar, Jan Garbarek, Zakir Hussain. Unfortunately they were followed by many fusion bands making a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. It is at this point where one stands transfixed wondering if the very term 'fusion music' is getting re-defined. The refreshing music of Prem Joshua & Band seems to revive fusion music."
- Laxmi Ajai Prasanna, Indian Express, India
"Prem Joshua is the new guru of World Fusion Music" - Times Of India, New Delhi, India
"Prem Joshua's music is one of the greatest contributions to Indian music in this decade. Surprisingly this credit goes to a Non-Indian artist!"
- Manoj Varma, musicologist and journalist, Australia
"Purists may scoff at Prem Joshua's combination of classical Indian music and funky European electronica, but that's why purists tend not to be much fun to hang around with. Prem Joshua, on the other hand, is probably lots of fun to hang around with, at least if his albums are any indication. All of Prem Joshua's projects offer a lovely balance between euphoria and contemplation, and puts it all to a booty-moving beat. Highly recommended."
- Rick Anderson, All Music Guide, USA
Discography
Prem Joshua - Tales of a Dancing River (1993)
Prem Joshua - Hamsafar (1994)
Prem Joshua - Desert Visions (1995)
Prem Joshua - Secret of the Wind (1996)
Prem Joshua & Hamsafar - Lifeprints (1997)
Prem Joshua - Mudra (1998)
Prem Joshua - Sky Kisses Earth (1999)A
Prem Joshua - Dance of Shakti (2000)
Prem Joshua & Manish Vyas - Water Down the Ganges (2001)
Prem Joshua & Maneesh de Moor - Shiva Moon (2002)
Prem Joshua - Dakini Lounge - Prem Joshua remixed (2003)
Prem Joshua - Yatri (2004)
Prem Joshua - Taranga (2005)
Prem Joshua & Chintan - Ahir (2006)
Prem Joshua & Band - In Concert (2008)
Soon to be released new album by:
Prem Joshua & Band (2010)
Photos
Bio
Imagine an entire band of white musicians move to India, create their own sound by setting traditional Indian instruments on a contemporary and global platform and spice it all up with elements of funk, trance, reggae, lounge. Eventually they get so known and appreciated in India that they play live on "MTV Asia", receive an award for "best film music on Indian TV" and even perform for the Indian President.
The career of Prem Joshua & Band reads like an unusual success story of world music "made in India".
Prem Joshua, born in Germany, studies the sitar and the bamboo flute with several Indian masters since the mid-80ies. In 1995, in the witches cauldron of the teeming Indian metropolis Pune, he forms his own international band, consisting of musicians from India, Europe and Japan. Over the years and the release of 15 albums with the Delhi-based record company "Music Today" - he has now become the number one bestselling world music artist in India. The foremost newspaper, the "Times of India" lauds him as the "new guru of world fusion music". Today he performs with his band all over the subcontinent, his music gets regularly played on Indian TV and even in the arrival halls of Indian international airports. Furthermore there is a flourishing black market selling his CDs all over the country. Who would have ever thought that piracy can also have positive side effects, at least to the popularity of a band?
One of the positive aspects of the breathtaking globalization and modernization that is sweeping through India is an ever growing interest in world music amongst young and educated urban Indians. To them one of the important names that are pioneering world music in India and still connect Indians with their own roots is Prem Joshua.
But his music is not only known in India. Internationally, Prem Joshua's music is a companion to many who have a connection with India in some form, either musically, spiritually, being part of the "Goa scene", through the practice of yoga, or simply as a tourist visiting the country.
In Europe Prem Joshua & Band have recently played at the Big Chill Festival in the UK and also had a private concert for Prince Edward at the Royal Palace in London.
Currently Prem Joshua & Band are busy recording their next album in studios in Italy and Bombay. They will be collaborating with several outstanding Indian vocalists incorporating lyrics by famous traditional Indian poets, such as Meera Bai and Kabir amongst others.
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