To listen to audio on Rock Paper Scissors you'll need to Get the Flash Player

Sample Track 1:
"New Generation Temple Step Project Remix (feat Darpan)" from Desert Dwellers
Sample Track 2:
"Crossing the Desert (Kalya Scintilla Remix)" from Desert Dwellers
Sample Track 3:
"La Tomba" from M.A.K.U. Sound System
Sample Track 4:
"MND" from M.A.K.U. Sound System
Sample Track 5:
"Aloha Ke Akua" from Nahko
Sample Track 6:
"Shabaz Featuring Riffat Sultana & Sukhwat Ali" from Riffat Sultana & Party
Sample Track 7:
"Julay Lal" from Riffat Sultana & Party
Sample Track 8:
"JaaneJaan" from Riffat Sultana & Party
Sample Track 9:
"Desert Dwellers New Generation" from Temple Step Project
Sample Track 10:
"Truth and Grace" from Temple Step Project
Sample Track 11:
"Embrace The One" from Temple Step Project
Sample Track 12:
"Distant Temple" from Temple Step Project
Sample Track 13:
"Heart of the Whole" from Temple Step Project
Sample Track 14:
"Distant Temple Remix" from Temple Step Project
Layer 2
Bio

More about Beloved Sacred Arts & Music Festival 2013 and its Artists

Desert Dwellers

Desert Dwellers are one of the foremost influences in a genre that they basically expanded from the ground up to be where it’s at today. With a blend of a variety of sources that have been composed to form a heavily weaved set of sounds that coincide in perfect harmony together Desert Dwellers has established themselves in not only their home area of Southern California and New Mexico but across the globe.

Taking a new approach on digital production, members Amani Friend & Treavor Moontribe have combined the raw sounds of the natural world with skillfully blended deep bass, earthy percussion, etheric voices and culture crossing instrumentation into sonic incense for the mind and body. With this blend of dance tracks and down tempo sounds they have enabled themselves to give a heightened sense of being to listeners through their musical medium.

Bringing the electronic bass music vibe to the yoga scene, and the sounds of yoga to the electronic dance scene, Desert Dwellers’ global sounds are the bridge between worlds. Joining solid groove with sounds of serenity, their signature aesthetic feels as natural on the dance floor as it does after hours or on the mat. Due in no small part to Desert Dwellers’ pioneering spirit, the very concept of chill-out and sacred bass music has expanded dramatically. These sound alchemists offer cutting edge techniques that blend the modern edge of electronica with ancient and organic sounds, offering a spellbinding hybrid with echoes of our tribal past and future. The result has been the prolific production of genre blending dance tracks and down tempo grooves that make for truly memorable listening experiences.

GUADI

A global favorite in the electronica and dub music scenes, UK based producer GAUDI keeps his ever-growing fan base returning to the dance floor with his infectious bass-driven tunes and innovative live performances. Honoring the traditions of old school dub by performing on stage without a computer, GAUDI’s incredible sonic manipulations are interwoven with live Theremin, Moog, Vocoder, Tape Echoes, Percussion and Vocals - all of which makes for a one-of-a-kind experience not to be missed. For his 2013 tour GAUDI and his partner in rhyme Danny Ladwa, will be performing tracks from his new album, “In Between Times” (released May 14th on Six Degrees Records), which features an amazing crew of collaborators including Michael Rose (Black Uhuru), Jahmai, Raja Ram (Shpongle), the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, The Orb, Dennis ‘Dubmaster’ Bovell, Hedflux, Twilight Circus and the Moroccan artist Tahar.

Liberation Movement

Led by Resurrector of Heavyweight Dub Champion and Sasha Rose, and officially sanctioned by representatives of the Shipibo Tribe, Liberation Movement is a new collaborative music project that pushes the boundaries of human experience. Each Liberation Movement performance is a communal ritual that opens portals to the realm of spirits and invokes new levels of consciousness and healing. Infused with recordings of 20 Shipibo Shamans made by Resurrector over the course of 30 traditional ceremonies in the Peruvian Amazon, Liberation Movement channels the healing power of the plant spirits’ Ikaros (medicine songs) with the intention of removing the veils that separate us from the vibratory pulse of the Earth. Drawing on powerful alchemical sound devices, such as analog synths, acoustic guitar, human voice, tape delays, analog filters and consensus-reality distortion units, the Liberation Movement experience goes far beyond the limitations of laptop based performance. The live offering is a powerful transmutational synthesis of structure and improvisation—ancient and future. For Beloved 2013 Liberation Movement will be joined on stage by special guests Soriah, who blends traditional Khöömei (Tuvan Throat Singing) with his own visceral force and, by the dream-weaving Portland based singer, Kyrstyn Pixton.



Luke Mandala

For 15 years now, Luke has been mixing dance music live, producing music and events, and train-wrecking constantly for a large variety of dance floors including a large number of the biggest festival stages and time-slots around the USA, as well as around the world. With Luke's innovative and dynamic DJ/Live sets, depending on crowd you may encounter an eclectic mix of sounds from around the world with elements of soulful underground techno tech house, progressive, breaks, slower tempo bass music, dub, funk, etc. Luke has collaborated with Evan Marc (Blutech), Michael Manahan, Kriece, among many others and his tracks have gained plays and/or chartings from high profile DJ's such as Nick Warren, Hernan Cattaneo, John Acquaviva, Eelke Kleijn, Beltek, Anthony Pappa, Luigi Rocca, Boris Brejcha, Treavor/Brad/Dela Moontribe, Kriece, Desert Dwellers, etc. Luke’s extensive release catalog has been released on many of the biggest labels releasing underground music such as Booka Shade Records, Definitive Recordings, Addictech Records, Manual Music, Desert Trax, Baroque Records, and many more. Luke founded Activated Recordings in 2008. The Infinite EP Luke released on the well known Addictech Records reached #1 in the charts for sales with all labels at Addictech.com. Luke’s latest album “Traverse”, released in Feb. 2013, was in three top 100 charts on Beatport for three difference genres. Catering to each particular crowd, Luke's sets are geared toward an empathic and warmly affectionate journey to a place of body movement, inspiration, unification, and play.



M.A.K.U. Sound System

M.A.K.U Sound System is a New York-based Colombian band playing music that is traditional at its core, but with a futuristic spin that is distinctly M.A.K.U. Basing their rhythmic foundation on Colombian folkloric music, the band diverts from tradition by inflecting their sound with decidedly more modern synthesizers, and musical influences ranging from jazz, psychedelic rock, punk, afro-beat, reggae, and soul. This 8-musician ensemble was born in Queens in 2010 and uses an array of instruments in heavy rotation on stage and in the studio, including drums, Colombian drums, guitar, bass, vocals, clarinet, trombone, tenor saxophone, traditional Colombian percussion instruments such as maracas and gaitas (large indigenous flutes), and synthesizers – to name but a few. Most of the band members are Colombian immigrants who currently live, work, and play in New York City. Each of the musicians, regardless of origin, adds in his/her own interpretations and experiences to every M.A.K.U. song, both musically and lyrically, contributing to that quality in their songs that can only be defined as M.A.K.U.

Guitarist Camilo Rodriguez, founder of M.A.K.U., came up with the group’s name. The first part of their name, M.A.K.U, is borrowed from the Nukak Maku tribe indigenous to the Southern part of Colombia. This tribe is unique in that it managed to remain without any outside human contact until the late 1980’s. Despite being a peaceful people, the Nukak Maku tribe has since been persecuted within Colombia and exiled out of its original territory, a move that has forced the tribe to abandon several of its traditions and adopt a more western way of life. Additionally, the word Maku means ‘low class person’ in the indigenous languages in the Southern region of Colombia. Adding this context to ‘Sound System’, referring to the huge public parties thrown in the streets of Colombia and Jamaica in the 60’s and 70’s, M.A.K.U Sound System stands for a party for the people.

These ideas of tradition and loss of tradition, legacy, persecution, and working class struggles pervade M.A.K.U’s lyrics – and while these lyrics are often serious and reflective in tone, the origin of the second half of their name is not forgotten. Their songs still contain positive, celebratory messages of culture and life, and of course, plenty of rhythm that make people wanna get up and shake ‘dem booties!! All the kind of stuff that life is made of…

Within the short time span that M.A.K.U has been together, the band has independently produced two albums: Vamos Bien (2010) and MAKUMBALA (2011), with a third album (EP) in progress.

Vamos Bien (2010), M.A.K.U’s first album, is described by founder Camilo Rodriguez as the album that ‘had to happen’ in order for M.A.K.U to get their bearings as a band. Thus, it captures the group’s original search for its voice and experimental core, while still incorporating those traditional Colombian rhythms.

Quickly following Vamos Bien, MAKUMBALA (2011) was recorded over bleeding mics and rolling tapes and released on 7’’ vinyl and CD. MAKUMBALA keeps true to its cultural heritage with catchy champeta rhythms, powerful beats, and inspired alegre drum, and bridges urbanism with guest artist I-Jah Bones who breaks down a serious reggae verse. With the bands newest addition, Felipe Quiroz on the synths, MAKUMBALA revs up each track with electronic grooves.

M.A.K.U Sound System has been featured in such prominent media outlets as NY Daily News, Village Voice, TimeOut NY, Remezcla (NY and Chicago), Periscope, and Sounds and Colours. M.A.K.U has performed at universities, festivals and venues along the east coast including: SXSW (Austin, TX), GlobalFest (New York, NY), Joe’s Pub, (New York, NY), Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (Lincoln Center, New York, NY), Drom (New York, NY), S.O.B,’s (New York, NY), Le Poisson Rouge (New York, NY), BAMcafé Live, (Brooklyn, NY), Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY), Brooklyn Bowl (Brooklyn, NY), Millennium Park (Chicago, IL), Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago, IL), Levitt Pavilion (Pasadena & L.A., CA), Global Union (Milwaukee, WI), Concert of Colors (Detroit, MI), Musikfest (Bethlehem, PA) and Bennington College (Bennington, VT), to name but a few. They have opened for artists such as Das Rascist at the Ole Club (Swarthmore, PA), Bomba Estéreo at the Music Hall of Williamsburg (Brooklyn, NY), and Khaïra Arby and Her Band at Le Poisson Rouge (New York, NY). In the summer of 2011 M.A.K.U debuted in some of the hottest music venues in Bogota Colombia.

M.A.K.U is available to tour, open for other artists, and perform at venues across the United States and abroad.

Nahko

Oregon-­-native Nahko, born a mix of Apache, Puerto Rican, and Filipino cultures and adopted into an American family, suffered an identity crisis from an early age. But the unifying power of music entered his life as a healing remedy, when he took up the piano at age six. Armed with his newfound talent, he set out to bridge the cultural gaps dividing his own psyche and began producing a public, musical journal of his journey toward personal, spiritual, and communal healing.

From his hometown of Portland to the shores of Hawaii or Bali, wherever he has traveled, Nahko is joined by a tribe of culturally alienated truth seekers for whom Nahko’s story resonates with their own, and who find redemption in his voice, guitar, flute, and drum. Whether solo or with the dynamic group of musical troubadours known as “Medicine for the People,” Nahko delivers a soulful dose of curative vibrations that moves audiences to dance, laugh, and cry. His ‘spirited redemption music’ lays bear the scars of cultural wounds, environmental wrongs, and social injustices. His lyrics bear the burden of heavy messages, but the load is lightened by agile melodies and driving rhythms that coerce all who bear witness into spirited, purifying, movement. His humor disarms, and his lyrical stories open listeners to the power of “Real Talk Music”—songs that reveal an honesty and depth so raw, it inspires an internal revival that echoes out into the world. Sometimes exuberant, sometimes savage, but always transformational, Nahko makes the movement move.



Riffat Sultana

Riffat Sultana channels the musical wisdom of 500 years and eleven generations of master vocalists from India and Pakistan. Daughter of legendary classical singer, the late Maestro Ustad Salamat Ali Khan. Riffat is the first woman from her family's musical lineage to publicly perform in the west. Riffat performs a wide variety of traditional and modern material from the Indian sub-continent, including, Sufi, Geet, Ghazal, Filmi, Qawwali, and Bhangra. Her acoustic ensemble features instruments including tabla, bansuri flute, and 12 string guitar. Highlighting her performances are devotional, and ecstatic Sufi songs to great saints like Shahabaz Qalander and Baba Bule Shah, sure to move your heart, soul, and feet!

Sasha Rose

Sasha Rose is a multi-talented Canadian singer/songwriter, musician, DJ and producer. From age 16, she began an extensive professional solo-touring career, which took her through the U.S., Australia, Canada and Europe. She has released two solo acoustic albums as Sasha Butterfly, Grace (2001) and Creation Song (2004), and has recorded vocals on over 30 projects including two Random Rab albums, the Interchill release Gathering of the Tribes with her project Kinship and Mimosa’s 2009 album Hostilis. Her original lyrics bring awareness and create a deep earth connection to her listeners. Sasha is also a central member of the music collective, Liberation Movement, a collaborative project featuring Resurrector of Heavyweight Dub Champion and Shipibo shamans from the Peruvian Amazon. As a DJ she is highly sought after for ecstatic dance events and is regular guest at Ecstatic Dance, Mass Transit, Dance Journey and many others. Her popularity with the spiritually focused dance crowd comes from her unique hybridization of original production featuring her celestial vocals and flute playing combined with carefully selected inspirational dance tracks. Her performances flow from heart song grooves to tribal rhythms to down tempo dance dub to ecstatic inspirational ascensions to higher realms.

Xavier Rudd

Xavier Rudd is back with his #2 ARIA debut album, Spirit Bird.

With an identifiable array of guitars, yidakis (didgeridoos), stomp box and percussion, Rudd’s has re- introduced Australians to the sounds and stories of the land’s original owners, while introducing the rest of the world to an entirely new sound altogether. Over the course of a decade, he has taken this sound to every corner of the globe; producing seven studio albums, two live albums, multiple ARIA nominations and a global fan-base of likeminded souls.

From 2002’s To Let, his first studio album, through to 2007’s White Moth, Rudd gradually refined his globally- influenced collage of world music – a matchless mixture of reggae, funk, blues, folk, and nearly every other sort of song with the ability to stimulate people’s spirits.

With 2008’s Dark Shades of Blue, the world was welcomed into a darker, more somber side of Rudd’s music. The album was indeed musically rich, with an international influence still inherent; however, the overall aura carried a different tinge compared to that of his previous work.

Dark Shades Of Blue was something that I didn’t realize at the time. It was like I could feel the shudder of an earthquake, but I didn’t know it was coming” explains Rudd. That metaphorical earthquake manifested in the form of the most tumultuous year in Rudd’s personal history, and one he was more than happy to put behind him when starting to pen 2010’s Koonyum Sun.

This album was a new awakening for Rudd, perhaps because it was his first with bassist Tio Moloantoa and percussionist Andile Nqubezelo under the unified banner of ‘Xavier Rudd & Inzintaba’. Thanks to the input of Inzintaba, Koonyum Sun presented a staggering amount of vigor to this release that Xavier Rudd fans hadn’t seen to date.

Which brings us to 2012’s Spirit Bird. Already producing Rudd’s highest-selling single and most played radio single to date with Follow The Sun, 2012’s Spirit Bird is Rudd’s deepest and most explorative album. The album saw the ever socially-conscience Rudd delve into his musical and spiritual ancestry and took him from the threatened landscape of Western Australia’s Kimberley region, to the hills and lakes of Canada.

The Spirit Bird sees Rudd to sell-out shows and festivals across Europe, UK, Australia, US and Canada.

Xavier Rudd is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, a surfer, environmental and cultural activist, and one of Australian’s most iconic voices.

Opiuo

Ever wanted some extra funk in your life? What about some warm syrupy bass sauce to compliment your daily adventure? Well now you can have all that and more within the perfectly crafted sonic soundscape that is Opiuo. A Kiwi who now calls Australia home, Opiuo is a chief sufferer of intense musical addiction, spending every spare second creating audible treats and selling out venues throughout the entire world.

He’s performed alongside the likes of MC Hammer and Bassnectar, reached #1 chart positions on Beatport, Addictech, and iTunes. In turn, inspiring and captivating people all over with his highly original and uncontrollably addictive take on fun fuelled electronic music.

His remix credits span world renown artistic icons like Infected Mushroom, KOAN Sound and Warner Brother’s artist, Kimbra. Music from the Opiuo Lab can be found on television, in documentaries, on radio (BBC Radio One + JJJ) and specifically selected for compilations by artists such as legendary broken beat pioneer BT (Black Hole Recordings).

Live, Opiuo is an ever evolving feast for the ears. From a one man show equipped with drum machines and synths, all the way to The Opiuo Band, amassing a collection of the world’s best musician’s to perform his music 100% live. The last Live National Australian tour showcased his ability to translate these electronic manipulations into a live form, showing the true musicality of Opiuo and his creative endeavors.

Sycamore Slough String Band (AKA S3B)

The Sycamore Slough Band is an all-star group of string players including renowned mandolin player David Thom, David Sideman on upright bass, & Fiddle Dave. Much of the bands repertoire is comprised of Americana and Bluegrass versions of Grateful Dead songs but also some originals. Recently the band was honored with a performance at Bob Weir's (Grateful Dead) TRI Studios. TRI is one of the most advanced live streaming video and audio studios in the world.

David Gans David Gans “A major voice in the Deadhead community” SF Chronicle is known worldwide for his solo project performing unique covers of Grateful Dead songs and originals. David has performed at festivals all over North America including High Sierra Music Festival, Gathering of the Vibes, to name a few. He is also well known for performing with Phil Lesh legendary bassist for the Grateful Dead. Phil played some of his first shows post Jerry Garcia sitting in with David and his band. David is often credited with being a major part of Phil's return to performing. Phil is now performing regularly including selling out Madison Square Garden.

David is equally well known as the premier Grateful Dead DJ and Dead expert. His nationally syndicated “Grateful Dead Hour” has been running for more than 25 years since 1985. It is nationally syndicated with thousands of listeners. His weekly show “Tales from the Golden Road” is featured on XM radio also with thousands of listeners. Much of the time David promotes his own performances on these shows.

David Gans heard the David Thom Band's arrangement of “Ship of Fools” a couple of years back and thought the two Davids might have some common musical ground. After a jam at the Bay Area quintessential venue Ashkenaz in Berkeley in 2011, the pair started thinking about making a band. Bassist Roger Sideman of the China Cats delivered thumping upright bass lines to that jam, and the three of them started looking for a fourth. When DG opened for The Fall Risk at two shows in December of that year, he immediately recognized “Fiddle Dave” as a kindred spirit and called his partners to tell them, “I found our guy!” Gans had the brilliant idea of holding the band's first rehearsals in a recording studio in order to capture the magic that everyone knew would transpire. The best of those sessions are presented on the CD First Rehearsals. S3B's song list has already jumped the fence into other works, but the repertoire will remain Dead-centric for the most part. The Grateful Dead's "concerted sense of quest" informs S3B's musical interactions, and a powerful vocal ensemble rides high atop their grooves.