GuruGanesha Singh is an icon of the yoga music genre. A musician deeply devoted
to both his craft and the greater landscape of sacred sound, GuruGanesha’s contribution
to World Sacred Music is manifold. His two solo releases of Sikh-inspired chant
music enhanced by his virtuoso guitar work, Pure Ganesh and Grateful Ganesh, are
beloved by his fans world-wide. Pure Ganesh put GuruGanesha Singh on the map as
a solo musician, topping New Age charts in early 2007 and receiving high critical
acclaim from magazine reviewers in both New Age and Yoga publications. Long before
GuruGanesha Singh released his solo albums, he was the force behind many well known
chant musicians, including Snatam Kaur, Thomas Barquee, and Mirabai and released
several albums with other musicians including Game of Chants with Guru Singh and
Grammy-Winning singer, Seal.
GuruGanesha Singh is also the original founder of the record label, Spirit Voyage
Records, as well as the distribution company, Spirit Voyage Music. He founded both
businesses with the intention of creating new avenues for spreading inspiring music
to ever-widening audiences.
GuruGanesha performs over a hundred musical performances per year, from the Bahamas
to Singapore on the Celebrate Peace World Tour with Snatam Kaur, in addition to
teaching yoga classes and prosperity workshops, and recording new music. His unmitigated
joy and virtuoso guitar work make him an instant favorite with the audiences around
the world.
Where does an entrepreneur and gifted musician like GuruGanesha come from? What
are his inspirations? What has influenced his unique musical style? What is the
Celebrate Peace Tour, and how can you participate?
More about GuruGanesha
GuruGanesha Singh, originally from Boston, was born into a family full of music
and dance having both a father and mother in show business. At 11 yrs old, GuruGanesha
received his first guitar from his cousin, a studio guitarist on the Ed Sullivan
Show, and this is where his marriage to music truly started.
Inheriting boundless energy from his father, GuruGanesha pursued music in college,
joining a rock band named Cat’s Cradle and touring with the Allman Brothers Band.
He was also responsible for bringing the Grateful Dead, his favorite band, to his
college, Clark University in Western Massachusetts multiple times.
When the rock and roll explosion hit in the 1960’s, GuruGanesha was inspired by
bands such as The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead. “Jerry Garcia
was my first Guru,” GuruGanesha says, “and the Grateful Dead gave me my first experience
of group consciousness through music.”
GuruGanesha, a Sikh, has practiced yoga and meditation for over 30 years under the
guidance of his spiritual teacher, Yogi Bhajan. In 1972, GuruGanesha took his first,
life-changing Kundalini yoga and meditation class at Clark University. As he heard
a Guru Ram Das chant being played on the guitar, tears of joy poured down his cheeks
and he felt a deep connection with himself and the universe.
After this profound experience, GuruGanesha transitioned from rock to devotional
music and he moved into a Sikh community in the Washington DC area, where he still
lives. “It was the music that brought me into the community,” GuruGanesha said.
Every morning at 4:00am, GuruGanesha plays music and chants along with members of
the community, which provides an ongoing source of joy and inspiration in his life
and music.
In 1999, GuruGanesha founded Spirit Voyage Music with the goal of finding a way
to spread chant music to ever-widening audiences. GuruGanesha strongly believes
that music has the power to heal the planet and set Spirit Voyage up as a conscious
business with the purpose of serving humanity.
GuruGanesha Singh is also founder and CEO of the Sandler Sales Institute of Virginia.
GuruGanesha is considered to be one of the world’s premier high tech sales training
experts with clients that include Computer Associates, Cisco Systems, BMC Software,
and Cognos Corporation.
GuruGanesha’s Music
“Music keeps my heart beating, it motivates me to get up in the morning, it heals
me and helps me serve and uplift others,” says GuruGanesha.
GuruGanesha’s music is rooted in the eastern tradition of Kundalini yoga chants
and draws inspiration from GuruGanesha’s 30 years of experience as a yogi. He has
a very unique approach to chants that brings his intricate guitar work to the forefront,
blending exceptional musicianship with uplifting chants.
GuruGanesha has been making music for a few decades. He began recording music in
1999 in partnership with the well-known musical couple Gurudass on their release,
Train to Amritsar. The year 2000 was an intensely creative year for GuruGanesha.
With Peace Family, a band consisting of GuruGanesha Singh, Snatam Kaur, and Livtar
Singh, he recorded an album Reunion which expanded into a second album To Heaven
and Beyond featuring Snatam Kaur which then launched the beginning of her career
as a solo artist. In that same year, he began recording an album with Guru Singh
and Seal, Game of Chants, which was released in 2001. That same year, Peace Family
released a second album, Carry Us Home, and GuruGanesha released his album Power
Mantras.
After those years of intensive musical creativity and recording, GuruGanesha took
a break from his own music and focused on his blossoming record label and distribution
company, Spirit Voyage, and released multiple albums as executive producer.
It wasn’t until 2004, after he had spent substantial time developing the precision
of his guitar work both in formal training and on the road with The Celebrate Peace
Tour that he released his first solo album, Grateful Ganesh. This album of morning
meditation chants was just the beginning of the development of GuruGanesha’s unique
solo sound.
Recording his newest album, Pure Ganesh, exposed GuruGanesha to new levels of musical
and spiritual development. “A part of me got expressed through this album that has
been dormant since 1972 when I essentially started focusing on backing up chanting
with rhythm guitar instead of continuing to grow as a lead guitarist. My creativity
as a guitarist has really come alive since I started playing with Snatam Kaur and
has particularly come alive during the creation of this album. It’s very exciting
to realize that at age 55 my best years as a guitarist and musician are still ahead
of me. I am now determined to realize my full potential as an artist before I leave
this physical body and I feel like the sky is the limit.”
Pure Ganesh has received rave reviews from both yogic and new-age publications.
Writes music review Randy Alberts of New Age Retailer, “The popular GuruGanesha
Singh possesses, or channels, one of the most beautiful, inviting warm voices in
music today. Combining his excellent Western New Age, jazz-tinged guitar lead and
rhythm work with that voice, surrounded by masterful chant vocalists and traditional
Indian instrumentalists, Pure Ganesh is an enchanted easy-listening experience that
soothes, lifts, and inspires.”
Yoga Chicago’s music reviewer gave him rave reviews, “Guruganesha’s solo release,
Pure Ganesh, has me hooked. Ok, I’ll admit I’m addicted. And so is my four-year-old
son. He’s a talented tunesmith, and a guitar master.” She goes on to write, “Pure
Ganesh is filled with the Brazilian concept of saudaude, or deep longing. The guitar
licks, like waves of the ocean, are crying for union with the One.”
GuruGanesha is now working on his third solo release while maintaining a rigorous
touring schedule with the Celebrate Peace Band and maintaining his successful sales
training business. Says GuruGanesha, “Music is the most meaningful outlet for my
creative self and it is the most heartfelt expression of my essence as a human being.”