Chinmaya Dunster

Chinmaya Dunster's release Celtic Ragas, a blend of Indian and Celtic elements, appeared on New Earth Records in 1998. Nature's Way, a collection of Chinmaya's songs sung by Ellika Hansen, was released in Europe in August 2000 on Kreuz Verlag (Germany).

Chinmaya then released on New Earth Records Feng Shui and Yoga on Sacred Ground. In 2003 Chinmaya and his Celtic Ragas band were exclusively honored to perform live at Paul McCartney's wedding in Ireland.

A collection of his favorite melodies was released on New Earth Records in 2002 called Sacred Temples of India. He continued his mix of Celtic and Indian music on the Karma Circles CD in 2003.

Chinmaya Dunster's Biography

Chinmaya Dunster was born in Kent, England in 1954. His father was an accomplished artist who made his living renovating old houses and Chinmaya grew up in a rambling sixteenth-century farmhouse set amid the apple orchards, wheatfields, woods and streams.

After attending Art College and oddjobbing as a farmhand, Chinmaya took himself off, watercolors and Spanish guitar in hand, on the hippy trail that led through Afghanistan to India. After exploring and painting in the Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Japan, an all-night concert in New Delhi in 1979 proved to be a turning point in his life.

There he heard a performance by the world-famous sarodist Amjad Ali Khan and instantly fell in love with the sarod (a nineeteen-stringed, banjo-like Indian classical instrument). Three years later, while teaching art at a school in London, he became a student of Amjad Ali Khan's leading disciple.

Chinmaya dedicated the next thirteen years to the study of Indian classical music on the sarod, both in London and at the Osho Commune in Pune, India. In 1990, with two other commune members, he founded the east-west fusion band Terra Incognita, which released two CDs on New Earth Records.

The 1990s saw four further releases from Chinmaya on Nightingale Records: Spiral Dance, a collaboration with the Persian musician Sirus; a solo project Lands of the Dawn; and, after intensive study of Chinese geomancy, the two CDs Music for Feng Shui Parts 1 and 2.

His release Celtic Ragas, a blend of Indian and Celtic elements, appeared on New Earth Records in 1998. Nature's Way, a collection of Chinmaya's songs sung by Ellika Hansen, was released in Europe in August 2000 on Kreuz Verlag (Germany).

A collection of his favorite melodies was released on New Earth Records in 2002 called Sacred Temples of India. He continued his mix of Celtic and Indian music on the Karma Circles CD in 2003.

During his stay in India in the winter of 2003/2004, Chinmaya recorded a live concert in Pune, released in 2005 on New Earth Records as Fragrance of the East. This CD also features video clips from the concert. For FREE download of the full one-hour video Concert for India's Environment, including interviews with environmentalists, poems on nature composed and read by Indian schoolkids and stunning footage of the Indian wilderness, go to www.fragranceoftheeast.org.

In 2005, Paul McCartney chose the song "Chance Meeting" from Chinmaya's CD Celtic Ragas, as the third track on his favorite songs compilation Glastonbury Grooves, given away free with UNCUT magazine in the UK.

2006 saw the release on New Earth Records of Yoga Lounge, a collaboration with Indian sitar maestro Niladri Kumar. Chinmaya's 2007 release Buddha Moon is a collaboration with Indian classical guitarist Amano Manish and Manipuri flautist Bikram Singh.

Chinmaya Dunster has recently relocated to Goa, India, where he lives in Assagao.

Selected Review:

GAIA'S GARDEN finds Chinmaya Dunster contemplating the beauty and majesty of the natural world, using music to conjure images of regal forests, manicured gardens and mountainous landscapes. Dunster's music mixes Asian (in particular Indian) influences with warm new age melodies; the combination makes for smooth, flowing pieces of music with an uplifting quality. The interplay of violin, sarod and santoor gives the music an exotic feel, further buoyed up by the percolating tabla beats. Keyboards and drone instruments flesh out the backdrops, with coo guitars, piano and various types of flutes adding to the effect. Indian vocals provide the garnish on many of the tracks, adding to the languid mood. This is Chinmaya's most relaxed album to date, and it will certainly please any listener who likes contemporary instrumental music with a subtle Indian tinge.
-Music Design in Review