Dave Stringer – Producer/Composer/Artist, is a Grammy®-nominated recording artist and producer who has been widely profiled as one of the most innovative artists of the modern Yoga movement. He’s both an inspiring singer and a captivating public speaker, resolving neuroscience, yoga philosophy, and music into a participatory theatrical experience.
Stringer’s sound invokes the transcendent mysticism of traditional Indian instruments with the exuberant, groove-oriented sensibility of American gospel and the ringing harmonies of Appalachia. He is featured in the documentary films Mantra: Sounds Into Silence and The Power of Mantra and has toured extensively, leading concerts, workshops, and retreats worldwide.
Mantra Americana II Overview
Grammy®-nominated Madi Das and Dave Stringer, are the artist-producers behind Mantra Americana.
The new music expands on the sound they crafted for the first album, combining modal melodies derived from Indian ragas with the chord structures and ecstatic harmonies of American Gospel and Bluegrass. From swinging Bhangra tabla grooves to the twang of Appalachia, the sound of the band Mantra Americana can memorably be described as Roots & Ragas, Nashville meets Namasté, Country & Eastern.
Highlights include guest performances from music legends Greg Leisz, Dean Parks, and Mitchel Foreman on dobro, mandolin, pedal steel, accordion, piano and Hammond organ. The lead vocals evoke an alternative version of Johnny Cash if he grew up in an ashram. The ringing harmonies of the backing vocal quartet (Tulsi Bloom, Allie Stringer, Justin Michael Williams and Dave Stringer) recall the Laurel Canyon sound of the ‘70s. Tabla player Patrick Richey studied in India but was raised in Tennessee.
Mantra Americana is all at once profoundly devotional and playfully irreverent. It’s made of motifs that are borrowed and repurposed, but it’s also a wholly original work of art. It manages to be both blasphemous and orthodox, thoroughly modern and still grounded in tradition. It’s a tree with Indian roots growing in American soil, bearing fragrant fruit that tastes both familiar and exotic.
