Kristina Allen (Nepal)

 

Kristina Allen was born in Thimpu which is the capital of Bhutan, a country in Asia.

 

Kristina has been interested in music from a young age. She has sang and played the guitar regularly at school and with other musical groups from he age of 8. She is also interested in playing football, she is a huge supporter of Liverpool Football Club, photography, coking and fashion. 

 

Om Shanti Om was inspired by listening to South Asian music such as Nepali folk music, Indian classical music and meditation music. I wanted to combine all three types of music and blend them together by adding a modern feel to it. Examples of groups and people I was listening to were Kutumba (Nepali folk band), Ravi Shanker, Anoushka Shanker and Nepathya.

 

Ravi Shanker’s style of music is known as known as “Raga Sangeet

The system of Indian music known as Raga Sangeet and can be traced back nearly two thousand years to its origin in the Vedic hymns of the Hindu temples, the fundamental source of all Indian music. Therefore the roots of Indian classical music are religious.”- Ravi Shanker

 

The way and in which the instruments were layered and arranged in the Raga Sangeet tracks had me thinking about how I wanted the instruments I was using to intertwine with each other, creating a pleasant sound, however at the same time adding in a modern twist to the piece.

 

Nepathya The moving force behind this band is Amrit Gurung who wears Gandhian frames (supposed to have been presented to him from one of his aunts who was a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi) and sings about peace and harmony. He is the only currently active founding member of the band. His songs encompass all of Nepal and are not limited toKathmandu Valley.

 

Nepathya is a Nepali band, best known for blending folk melodies with modern western-influenced rock music. Nepathya is well known for contemporary tunes that have strong ties with indigenous music and songs sung using regional dialects from rural Nepal. This is what inspired me to a modern twist to my piece, I wanted to make it sound classical however add an element of modern music. This is when I decided to add the kick bass drum in the background of the piece, also, by having the guitar and bass already creates and adds to the element of the track being modern. By having the sitar and flute sounds adds to the classical side of the track. Anoushka Shanker’s Rise album also has got a modern twist, she uses low bass sound/beat in some of her songs, which is also what gave me the idea of how to make my track modern.

 

I started by looking at different clips within abelton and found a tabala beat. So I used this as a base. After listening to the beat, I made some notes of what else I’d want to include, which included a sitar, voice, flute, bass, nature sounds and guitar.

 

I recorded the sitar in by using a sample from abelton and recorded it by using the push. Through improvising and trying different tunes on the push I found something I really liked and the recorded it.

 

I had Jordan to improvise with the guitar on the piece, which consisted of the tabala beat and the sitar. We recorded it into abelton by using a microphone. I did the same with the bass and had Jo play on it. I added some reverb (hall reverb) to the guitar and bass as I wanted them sound like they were being played in a temple. I also added some delay to give it that echoing effect of being in a bit ashram in India.

 

After spending a couple of lessons putting all the instruments together, I had a proper layout of the track and had an idea of what I wanted the vocal to sound like and different effects I could use with my voice to make the track sound more interesting.

 

I recorded the humming sounds “oh” and did different versions of it. I wanted to add something to the track that would add the element of meditation and positivity. So I went on to making the vocal parts melismatic to give it the vibe of mediation. The reason I chose to sing the words Om shanti Om is because it is a mantra that represents positivity and peace therefore brining out the Indian side of my inspiration.  I added quite a bit of reverb and delay, again to give it the feel of one being in a temple and the resonating sounds of the human voice. I also used EQ to get rid of the really high frequency sounds because I didn’t want the piece to sound distorted as it is supposed to be a calm and positive track. I panned some of the vocal parts extremely left and right to create an echo effect like the sounds of the voice bouncing off the temple walls.

 

“By this process individual consciousness can be elevated to a realm of awareness where the revelation of the true meaning of the universe - its eternal and unchanging essence - can be joyfully experienced. Our ragas are the vehicles by which this essence can be perceived.”- Ravi Shanker

 

I wanted to make this track sound like a journey, so when one listened to it, they would feel like they were on a journey of life and discovering one’s spirituality. By adding the sounds of spring and birds chirping I was trying to set the mood to be calm and relaxed. I then had the tabala and guitar slowly come in, this was create a sense of “the sart of the journey”. I added the same sounds at the end of the piece as the end of the journey.

 

“Om is believed to be a sound of the whole cosmic manifestation. And Shanti is the "Peace". 'Om Shanti' means peace for the all human kind, peace for all living and non living beings, peace for the universe, peace for each and everything is in this whole cosmic manifestation.”

 

Over all the track represents a journey of spiritual discovery, by having the different sounds and instruments coming in and out of each other, it shows the different stages of one’s journey. All having a calm and positive affect to the listeners. 

 

Below are a few links to her pages: 

http://www.reverbnation.com/kristinaallen

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kristina-Allen

https://www.youtube.com/user/kristinaallen8/videos

https://soundcloud.com/kristinaallen8