Amrita, meaning Nectar, was born out of pure love of simplicity and sound. The idea with Amrita was to create a cd that is organic and acoustic, melodic and textural. On their second cd, Ê Vidão (meaning, "this is the life"), they continue with their Global Time Travel with a modern, more urban perspective, creating music that is both meditative and danceable.
Ê Vidão features a vast array of instrumentation: sitar, tabla, dhol, mandolin, dholak, surdo, hebolo, vocals, didgeridoo, repenique, piano, acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, slide guitar, drum programming, trombone, bansuri.
Thomas Flanagan is a Philadelphia musician who also performs with the extremely talented acoustic Indian fusion band One. Thomas plays sitar, acoustic guitar and electric guitar and sings. He has performed throughout the U.S. as a soloist and in collaboration with master percussionists Subash Chandran and Ganesh Kumar. He has studied sitar in Calcutta, India.
Jeremy Dyen is a Philadelphia musician who performs also with underground prog-pop rock giants, Blivit, as well as Alo Brasil and the world drumming orchestra, Spoken Hand. He has also recorded with platinum artist John Legend, and performed with Zakir Hussain, Digable Planets and G-Love. Jeremy plays piano, tabla, lap steel guitar, guitar and sings.
Both Thomas and Jeremy are avid writers with broad influences and tastes. Ê Vidão was composed, recorded, produced and mastered entirely by Thomas Flanagan and Jeremy Dyen, with the exception of "Hine Ma Tov," which is a traditional song with an original arrangement written by Ruth Levy, Jeremy Dyen and Thomas Flanagan.
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