Aradhna is a band that fuses traditional Indian devotional music (

bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

) with Christ-centered themes, composed primarily in the

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

language, in addition to Nepali, Bihari,

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

and

Braj Bhasha The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

languages. The band members include Chris Hale (lead vocals, sitar), Peter Hicks (acoustic guitar, sitar) and Travis McAfee (bass). Tabla Player Jim Fiest regularly plays with the band.

History

Aradhna was created in 2000 when Chris Hale and Peter Hicks who had been touring India with their band Olio returned to the US to record Aradhna's debut album 'Deep Jale' (Light the Lamp). The name Aradhna is from Hindi, meaning 'Adoration'. The band-members were interested in creating an authentic sound for Indian Christ-centered worship which had so far relied heavily on Western hymns and contemporary worship. To make this possible the band turned to India's

bhajan Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

singers and the style of Indian devotion known as '

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

', expressing faith in 'Yeshu Khrist' (Jesus Christ). Hale assumes primarily songwriting duties due to his fluency in Hindi. In addition to Hale's compositions, the band features songs composed by Peter John, an Indian musician from New Delhi whose Christ-centered

caught Hale's attention. The band involves several Indian musicians in their performances and recordings as well. In May 2016, Oxford University Press published "The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities" which featured a chapter featuring Aradhna's music, entitled, "Are Western Christian Bhajans Reverse Missions Music?" by Christopher Dicran Hale.

Musical style

Aradhna has evolved in its musical style primarily from the

fusion music A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...

that Olio played and delving deeper into Northern Indian classical music (

Hindustani music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

) that Hale was learning under the discipleship of Partho Chatterjee (

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

). Hicks, who played electric guitar, also was learning sarod under the discipleship of Calcutta's Partho Sarothy. Travis McAfee added electric bass to this duo in the recording of their debut album, bringing his more traditional western sensibilities and experience to the group. Five years after the formation of the band, Fiona Hicks (married to Peter) added Hindustani violin, having studied Northern Indian classical music under

Kala Ramnath Kala Ramnath is an Indian classical violinist. She belongs to the Mewati gharana, a lineage of musicians. She was awarded the Sangeet Natak Academy Puraskaar in 2016, Rashtriya Kumar Gandharva Sanman in 2008 and the Pandit Jasraj Gaurav Puraska ...

Critical Acclaim

For a band that has ventured into uncharted territory, the critical acclaim in North America, the UK and India has been favorable.
Performing across the US from LA to NY, Aradhna has found audiences on University campuses as guest artists, headlining world stages at summer music festivals in the US and Europe. They've also found more religious venues to be quite welcoming with performances in yoga studios, churches like St Martin's as well as in Hindu and Buddhist temples and Sikh

Gurdwaras A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

alike. Reviews have compared Hicks's vocals to

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

's.Reviews of The Phantom Tollbooth
/ref> Aradhna has performed with talented guest artists like Jim Fiest on both recordings and tours.

Discography

External links

*
Peter Hicks Colossians Three Sixteen Interview

References

{{Authority control American world music groups Musical groups from Cincinnati Musical groups established in 2000