Transcendent State

'Deep and moving trance music combined with rare musicianship. A lovely CD!' ~ Jai Uttal - world-renowned kirtan and rock artist 'Turiya is a sensuous, rhythm infused sonic landscape, perfect for yoga and other joys.' ~ Girish - yogi, kirtan artist, musician, composer, producer Vincent Pierce Smith plays the Zen Tambour, tabla, cajon, Halo, Hang, udu, keyboards and a variety of percussion Karttikeya plays the Halo, Hang, Hapi, udu, cajonito, keyboards and a variety of percussion (Special guest, Lawrence Haber, plays the bass solo at the end of Ebb and Flow) This unique disc features the exotic and rare tuned-percussion instruments, the Halo, Hang and Zen Tambour. Yes, this is an album by drummers, and much drumming you will hear, but all in the context of composed melodic pieces. The music ranges from the fusionesque 'Ebb and Flow' to the meditative Halo-Hang duet, 'Moon Glow.' There is a strong thread of improvisation throughout, and much of the music came to the musicians in the studio itself. The album is 58 minutes with a flow from start to finish that will perfectly accompany a yoga practice, massage session, and exercise or dance routine. Karttikeya and Vincent are veteran drummer/percussionists who perform in a variety of styles and settings. You might find them playing this music live for a yoga class in the Princeton, NJ, area! We can hope that this is just the first of their musical collaborations. Vincent Pierce is a multi instrumentalist based in New Jersey, USA. He received a degree in Music at Rutgers University (Mason Gross School of the Arts) and is currently employed there as an accompanist for Modern and African Dance. He has composed many scores and live performances for theater and modern dance productions. Vincent has toured professionally with different groups since the age of 14. From 2005 to 2011 he toured extensively with Natural Breakdown. Vincent is a senior disciple of Tabla Guru, Pandit Divyang Vakil and has studied and performed Tabla in India. In recent years he has worked to bring tabla strokes onto the Cajon and has developed a unique style. Karttikeya is a modern renaissance musician and composer whose talents and inspiration span myriad genres, instruments and technologies. His life journey has been similarly diverse - from Berklee College of Music in Boston, to a Hindu monastery in Hawaii, to multiple bands and a recording engineering job at Music Together in New Jersey - musically and otherwise, Karttikeya has demonstrated polite disregard for the conventional. He performs regularly in kirtan (popular in the emergent yoga communities around the globe), jazz, rock-country-blues bands, world-beat ensembles and even children's music concerts. Whether on acoustic or electronic drum set, hand drums, eclectic percussion or keyboards, Karttikeya seeks to connect deeply to the music 'as it happens,' to support and enhance the group expression. He is routinely found working behind a mixing console or recording desk, rounding out his musical role as audio engineer and producer.