Who is Oliver Shanti
The real Oliver Shanti is probably a little different from any picture fans of his music may have. No abstract alienation, no reclusive contemplation but warmth and sincerity. A personality that loves to dream but can be immensely practical.
True to his gypsy background, he roamed the docks and back streets of post-war Hamburg and here he signed on as a deck hand at the age of thirteen. At the age of fourteen he wandered through Paris and explored the Caribbean. In the sixties he lived in Amsterdam, Berlin, California, and North Africa. In this time period he made money by Singing in nightclubs and doing odd jobs. Doing this resulted in him making contacts with people from the folk and pop music scene and he was then able to organised concerts. It was there that he met Donovan who is a close friend of his to this day.
After the legendary music festival at Baalbeck in Lebanon, his fascination with Oriental music led him there. In 1973 he disappeared from sight. Years and years later he was discovered in a djungle village on the banks of the Ganges, where he worked in the field hospital that he himself had founded. In 1980 his friends convinced him of the need to return to Europe.
It was only then that the life of the musician Oliver Serano-Alve actually started. Together with keyborder and sound specialist Veit Wayman and multi-instrumentalist Margot Vogl-Shanti he founded the music label SATTVA. The first production was 'Frieden Shanti Peace'.
During the time that followed, they melted meditative two-dimensional sound, charming melos, and the ethnic music of this world into a sound that is becoming more and more convincing and independent.
Ethno-Pop or Electronic; New Age or World Music, Shanti proves to be too independent to be just filed away in one of these genres, nor does he fit any of the conventional scenes. In spite of this or maybe because of this, his musical approaches are being discussed widely.However, his music 'happens' mainly away from the media.
Shanti is being ignored by the electronic media and does not fit any of the preconceptions of the print-journalists. Yet, collections like 'Tai Chi' and 'Tai Chi Too' bridging gaps to Asian cultures and 'Well Balanced' make him a recurring subject in subversive musical propaganda.
The best of collection 'Circles of Life' (1997) was a bestseller for 18 weeks; the SATTVA book-keeping department began to use seven-digit numbers when mentioning sales.
'Circles of Life' marked the end of a period.
The following CD 'Seven Times Seven' (7x7) signified another awakening for Oliver Shanti. A miracle indeed: focusing on all his productions since the beginning of the eighties, he presented a stupendous condensation of musical culture the world over. 40 musicians from 14 countries were either invited or visited personnally.
The musical dimensions were simply breathtaking. Musicians from Africa, Asia and the Near East, America, and Europe met and everything sounded as though they had always belonged together. 'Seven Times Seven' is the most complex but also the most pop-like presentation of Oliver Shanti's music. The new concept is clearly more song-oriented than his earlier work that had more spiritual depth and easy listening. This music has nothing in common with banal harmonies targeting the uncritical listener; yet these melodies are not lightly forgotten.
Without infringeing on the integrity of cultures, Oliver Shanti lifted the borders and used their musical individualities not as a mix but a symbiosis.
Peaceful coexistence is one thing, but creative cooperation is more. On the threshold of the new millenium, Oliver Shanti created WORLD MUSIC in the true sense of the word.
'Medicine Power', another Oliver Shanti's masterpiece, was created together with friends from Apache, Blackfoot, Cherokee, Chicksaw, Chocktaw, Irokese, and Navajo tribes.
Subtle Indian women's voices touch the heart; earthy, trance-like shaman chants and heart-beat percussion vitalise 'Body and Mind'. The enchanting beauty of the Indian flute, the lead-voices and the harmony of Pow Wow choirs blend into a musical carpet of contemporary music, thus mediating feelings of indescribable peace.
Invigorated, you will return from this extraordinary musical voyage. You don't exactly know how, but you seem to remember a spiritual healing, called 'Medicine Power' by the Native Americans.
Green Tara
Green Tara Mantra
Om Tara Tutare
Turae So Hah
Om Tara Tutare
Turae So Hah
Land of Mountains
Land of Dakinis
Land of Mountains
Of Mountains
Om Tara Tutare
Turae So Hah
Om Tara Tutare
Turae So Hah
Land of Mountains
Land of Mountains
Om Tara Tutare
Turae So Hah
Om Tara Tutare
Turae So Hah
Yeah Mah
Yeah Mah
Yeah Mah
Yeah Mah
Yeah Mah
Place Of Highest Mountains
Yeah Mah
Top Of This Earth
Yeah Mah
Nothing Can Bind You
Yeah Mah
No Way
Keep Your Inner Wisdom Alive
Save It For The Future Generations
Save The Wisdom Forever
For All Generations And Future
The Future Needs It More
Than Any Man Now Can Understand!
Oyster Band
Many of today's celtic/rock/rock acts can find influence from the Oysterband, the force that took root at the Canterbury University in the mid-80's. Bands as diverse as Wolfstone and Great Big Sea express sounds that are at least partially due to these legends of tradional music.
Much of the Osyterband's quality comes from its diversity: the band is hard to define as either folk, rock or traditional. They melt modern influences with music steeped from the days of yore. They sing tales, ballads, toe-tapping melodies and pub-brawling anthems. They also sing songs that later bands cover to even greater success. Case in point: Great Big Sea's recording of one of the Oyster band's most recognizable songs, "When I'm Up I Can't Get Down", which incidentally help put Great Big Sea on the road to bigger things in North America.
The band's music is as diverse as their members: an eclectic array of unlikely musical geniuses who shared a common goal of creating good music.
Consisting of guitarist Alan Prosser, the charismatic vocalist John Jones, the Scottish fiddler Ian Telfer and backup members Ian Kearey on bass and Russell Lax on drums, the Oysterband first conquered Britian and then made a modest impact in folk music circles worldwide.
Step Outside, the band's debut release in 1986 shock these circles up with it's bold mix of folk and rock. Little did the world - or the band for that matter - realize that nine successful albums would follow, cumulating in a 2000 best-of collection Oysterband: Granite Years (Best of 1986 to '97). This release, although a two disc collection of their biggest songs, is still a mere example of the breadth of talent that pushed the band to such heights.
Erin Boyle, CanEHdian.com. Copyright 2000.
Moving On
We walked these streets together, now we walk these streets alone.
We asked the man for justice, well he handed us a stone.
In this great land of freedom we are taking up the slack
We pushed the stone to the top of the hill and watch it rolling back.
And the way to Hell is straight and sure
The way to heaven is long.
The way to your heart is never ending
So I just keep moving on.
Moving on. Moving on.
The way to your heart is never ending
So I just keep moving on.
The brave are twisting in the wind, stupidity endures
And men with no identity will try to borrow yours.
Danger is the lure for boys to help you now and then
But they fall from the wire in a bay of pigs and don't come round again.
And the way to Hell is straight and sure
The way to heaven is long.
The way to your heart is never ending
So I just keep moving on.
Moving on. Moving on.
The way to your heart is never ending
So I just keep moving on.
I never felt myself alone or truly felt afraid
Until the hour I understood by friends we were betrayed.
Whose precious mouths are stuffed with food, who cannot meet our eyes
Who laugh about their principles and brush them off like flies.
And the way to Hell is straight and sure
The way to heaven is long.
The way to your heart is never ending
So I just keep moving on.
Moving on. Moving on.
The way to your heart is never ending
So I just keep moving on.
