interview

ABC Radio National Interview

THE YOGA OF MUSIC

Presented by Geoff Wood, 17 November 2013

Stories of self-transformation and of lives changed, of a guru avatar and the search for the god within, of music and yoga – they all come together this week as we meet a young Australian duo, Edo & Jo, singer-songwriters and kirtan musicians practising the yoga of music.

Kirtan is mantra-based devotional music drawing on ancient Hindu scriptures like the Upanishads but influenced by the more recent Bhakti tradition of ecstatic worship. It’s also become a growing musical style in the West where the influence of post-rock and electronic music, and the lifestyle philosophy of yoga, have combined to create what’s been called New Kirtan. And right at the heart of this movement are our guests this week.

Edo Kahn is an award-winning songwriter who was in the well-known Australian band Gelbison, while Jo Mall Kahn, who was born in Malaysia, studied classical piano and flute before a career in business management. They both had periods of spiritual turmoil before meeting in Bali at a yoga retreat. For the past six years they’ve toured throughout Australia, India, Bali, Malaysia and Singapore with their own brand of conscious folk-pop songs and kirtan chant music. Part of their Sacred Sound Yoga or Nada Yoga Nidra. Along the way they discovered how to live a larger life of service through their guru, Sri Narayani Amma, whose temple complex in South India, Sri Narayani Peedam, is now their home base for half of every year.

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