Shanti was a world music band who played a fusion of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

in the United States in the early 1970s. The band formed in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

area in about 1970, as a collaboration between classical Indian musicians Zakir Hussain (

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

dholak The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The instrument is about 45 cm in length and 27 cm in breadth and is widely used in '' qawwali'', '' kirtan'', ''lavani'' and '' bhangra''. The drum has two differ ...

, naal),

Aashish Khan Aashish Khan Debsharma (born 5 December 1939) is an Indian classical musician, a player of the sarod. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2006 in the 'Best World Music' category for his album "Golden Strings of the Sarode". He is also a reci ...

(

sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

), and Pranesh Khan (tabla, naal); and American rock and jazz musicians Neil Seidel (lead guitar), Steve Haehl (lead vocals, guitar), Steve Leach (bass), and Frank Lupica (drums). The stated intention at the time, according to Seidel, was to highlight the beauty of Indian music by showing it in a rock context.Sally O'Rourke, "Shanti", ''ReBeat'', 2015
Retrieved 20 August 2019 The word "Shanti" is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

term meaning " inner peace", and, again according to Seidel, all the band members were adherents of

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...

. Produced by

Richard Bock Richard W. Bock (July 16, 1865 – 1949) was an American sculptor and associate of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was particularly known for his sculptural decorations for architecture and military memorials,Lorado Taft''The History of American Sculptur ...

, the band's self-titled album was recorded in San Francisco and was released by Atlantic Records in 1971. Shanti, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved 20 August 2019 The album includes both psychedelic rock songs on which "the Indian instrumentation is minimized and largely reduced to decoration", and mostly longer tracks "that integrate Western and Eastern sounds in a more cohesive manner". The group was dropped by Atlantic after one album. They auditioned for

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

, but

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

reportedly persuaded George Harrison not to sign them, and the band then split up. Zakir Hussain and Aashish Khan both maintained successful careers, with Hussain collaborating with both

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

and Mickey Hart on later projects. Bassist Steve Leach, later known as Steve Wold, re-emerged as a performer in the 2000s as

Seasick Steve Steven Gene Wold ( né Leach, 19 March 1951),/nowiki>freight_trains.html" ;"title="freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains">freight_trains.html" ;"title="/nowiki>freight trains">/nowiki>freight trains/nowiki> f ...

."The Tremens", ''EarPollution'', April 2001
Retrieved 19 August 2019 The band's only album, ''Shanti'', was reissued on CD in 2015.

References

Atlantic Records artists Musical groups from San Francisco Musical groups established in 1970 {{US-band-stub