Written by Behnam Vadi and Jordanna Dworkin
Whether you believe in the esoteric world or not, your soul is connected to nature and its vibrational sounds. This is where music, in its different forms and genres, strikes a moving chord in the psyche and perpetuates a state of kinetic resonance. It stirs the emotional pot, moves the body on the dance floor, and it conjures a meditative space to soak in sweet surrender. For the career spiritualists, bhakti shakti sound revellers, inner dimensional time travellers, and the curious, Simrit’s November 8th concert at the Scottish Rite Temple took us on a magical musical carpet ride with intergalactic proportions.
Simrit, which means ‘meditate’ in Sanskrit, carries an ethereal, uplifting quality in voice and being that warms your heart and stirs your soul. At risk of sounding a bit New Agey, she truly radiates a beautiful light that extends beyond her Grecian goddess white robe and ornate Trojan warrior headdress. Like the meaning of her name, the sounds Simrit seamlessly orchestrates with her onstage entourage of dreamscape musicians spins the whole house into the ethers.
We knew we were in for an unforgettable evening, when the strikingly talented, Shannon Hayden, opened with original electric cello interludes to induce the collective hypnotic state. Right from the start, Shannon’s vibrant string play with pedalboard, deep loops, and angelic vocal overtones set the stage for progressive shadow meets light interplay throughout the night. We were spellbound within minutes.
Like an angel, Simrit seemingly floated onto centerstage existence, dancing her way into the first of many songs that make you feel all warm and fuzzy buzzy. One can’t help but catch the vibe from Simrit’s radiance and the way she weaves sound with spirit. She knows how to call in creativity and connectivity, as was witnessed by the lovely interplay amongst the musicians as well as the audience at large. And even in the grandness of laser rainbow light cascades and billowing sound, Simrit embodies an intimacy as if one has just landed softly in the arms of a beloved.
We began to wonder whether we were still on planet Earth as Simrit’s band from the next level carried us that much deeper into our bliss. As if in a trance, musicians such as Salif played the kora as tenderly and timeless as the tug of our heartstrings aligning with the resonance of joy. Blessed by exquisite sound, we fell deeper into the zone. For some, like the woman seated next to us, going deeper meant literally moving the body onto the horizontal plane. We couldn’t help but smile as she proceeded to side bend across multiple seats with a deep, audible exhale during many of the heart-opening moments of the show. Ahhhh, yesss! The entrancing sounds were brought to a crescendo when the illustrious song, ‘Clandestine’, seeped its way into every cell of our being, moving us out of our seats and into the collective dance to complete the night.
We bathed in the sound waves of nirvana, forgetting all about time and our world full of linear narratives. We took the journey with Simrit, and we relished every second of it! From the ethereal world and back down to planet Earth, we landed softly, wanting nothing more than another twirl into ecstasy.
For more info on Simrit visit: www.simritkaurmusic.com