As a percussionist, Patrick Richey has traveled the globe performing, recording, and collaborating with musicians from India, Morocco, and everywhere in between. As a tabla player, he has accompanied such artists as Abhijit Banerjee and Tarang, AZA, Dave Stringer, Jai Uttal, Kali Ray, Arjun Baba, and C.C. White.

Richey has co-led music, kirtan workshops, yoga, and travel adventures in the Himalayas, Bali, Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium, Mexico, and the United States. He studied tabla under Sri Abhiman Kaushal and Pandit Nandkumar Bhatlouande and received his M.A. in Music from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Tulsi Bloom is an American-born Jamaican/Puerto-Rican singer-songwriter, violinist, composer, and producer who combines elements of reggae, jazz, funk, soul, classical, kirtan, rock and dance into her work. Tulsi also creates progressive remixes of traditional Sanskrit mantras.

Tulsi is featured on the album, Chanting With Tigers, which went #1 on iTunes for World Music, and on the Grammy®-nominated album, Bhakti Without Borders in the New Age category. Tulsi is dedicated to making music that is a breath of fresh air for the soul and empowers, rejuvenates, and inspires all who hear it.  

Neeshad is an Environmentalist, and policy-oriented social change advocate, best known for his work on climate movement, environmental and climate policies in the Middle East. His core area of expertise includes analyzing global environmental and climate politics, Energy Transition, and sustainability issues. An active civil society member and has been a prominent presence at international climate summits especially UN Climate Summit (COP’s) since 2015 on various capacities, including role of youth and NGOs for climate action. He holds a master’s degree in Energy and Environmental Engineering and based in Doha, Qatar.

He was named in the Apolitical’s List of the 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy in 2019 and 2022 respectively.

Neeshad is currently the Co-founder & Executive Director at the Arab Youth Climate Movement Qatar, a first registered youth lead non-profit association in the State of Qatar. He is a Board Member at Climate Action Network (CAN) Arab World and CoalitionWILD. UNESCO Youth Climate Action Network (YoU-CAN) and UNEP Youth Regional Facilitator for the Middle East. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at Middle East Institute (MEI) and Agent of Change Fellow with Wilson Center.

His articles and interviews have appeared in Euro News, France24, Al Jazeera, BBC, Washington Post, WEF Agenda, Guardian, Anadolu Agency, Inside Arabia, The Gulf Times, Qatar Tribune, Qatar Today, Peninsula Qatar and others.

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.