HYDERABAD: DJ producer, fashion icon, Heartfulness meditation teacher and certified yoga trainer Pierre Ravan combines feel-good music, yoga, and Heartfulness meditation and calls it the KaRavan concept. Often billed as the first Spiritual House DJ in the world, Pierre has 10 compilation KaRavan albums which combine yoga, meditation and open-hearted music into one session, creating true dance floor unity. He has been a big draw at festivals, having taken his KaRavan concept to Defected Croatia, Sunburn in Goa and International yoga festivals.
Pierre blends his Persian heritage with his spiritual musical mantra to create an array of music spanning chill out plus a darker, late-night deep tech sound. He has just recorded his new EP, named Keep the Faith, and comments: “We should not separate people who like to party from those who like to meditate. We have to connect all humans as one family, and through my music, and then meditation and yoga, we create such unity and dance with the tune of the heart.” Father to four children, 52-year-old Pierre, and three of his kids have made Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad their home after living in the Czech Republic and Dubai.
Spiritual House Music
Pierre explains, “It’s a sound and style, especially for youth; it has a deep punch and connects the music deep into their hearts. It is neither devotional nor has any religious style; it is music that people would listen to in clubs and festivals, but it also works on the heart and gives a natural intoxication.” Saying that this music is now the genre that the niche clubs and festivals play, he says, “youth are not attracted to any religious institutions, but the work happens in a subtle way especially when people come and loosen up, and there is no resistance.”
Emerging trend
With more than three decades of experience in playing dance music, Pierre feels that there is a new level of consciousness among music lovers and partygoers. He says, “People want to listen and dance to music that gives them a deeper sense of feeling and are less motivated to get intoxicated with external chemicals.” He adds, “That is the reason I have added Heartfulness yoga and meditation in all my concerts to connect through their hearts and create a feeling of oneness and unity.” In India, he adds, “as far as the youth is concerned, Bollywood remixes and commercial is more popular, however some kind of open mindedness is happening, and people are open to trying new sounds without trying to imitate.”
Music uplifts
Pierre quotes Hazrat Anayat Khan, a Sufi teacher: “Music is the direct picture of our beloved.” He shares, “During this time people need to look more within, see all the hidden potential within, and uplift their soul and upgrade their lifestyle. This will happen when they accept and adapt, and yes music can facilitate this if it is backed with divine energy.” D —
Tamanna S Mehdi tamanna@newindianexpress. com @tamannamehdi