East meets West in duo’s unique take on worship music
TORONTO, ON - Aradhna's music has been described as a place where spirituality broods.
The band, fronted by Chris Hale and Pete Hicks, gets its name from the Hindi word for “adoration." On the surface, it would be easy to characterize their music as “cross cultural," as it brings together Western and Eastern instruments to create “bhajans" - a classical Indian style of devotional music - in both Hindi and English.
But for Hale and Hicks, their music is about far more than simply crossing cultures or combining musical traditions. It's about exploring the depths of Indian spiritual enlightenment, through the lens of Jesus Christ.
“This style of music gained immediate and deep access to our hearts," Hicks says, “and connected us closer to Jesus. The sound and words resonated with a deep longing in us to know that God is more expressive and creative than just the western approach to worship music. (It) pre-dates our band by thousands of years. We are just adopting an ancient tradition."
Cultural heritage
Hale, an American, grew up in a Christian family in South Asia, where he became fluent in Hindi and Nepali, and learned to play the sitar. While in his early 20s, he met Pete Hicks on a trip to the United States. Hicks, then in Grade 8, was a fellow musician from a similar cross-cultural background.
“I told him to come out to India when he finished high school," Hale said, “and he showed up immediately after he graduated."
They travelled to England - a country with one of the largest concentrations Indians abroad - to see how English Indians were bringing their cultural heritage into their worship of Jesus. There they began collaborating on their own music, creating new musical arrangements for ancient bhajans, with Hale on sitar and Hicks on guitar.
“I was basically there to find out what Indian followers of Jesus were doing for worship music," Hale says. “It was there that we really discovered the guitar and sitar combination, and liked it. It was also there that we realized Indian followers of Jesus were enjoying what we were doing, and felt a need for it."
Wide appeal
Aradhna recorded their first album, Deep Jale, in the United States in 2000. Working in collaboration with other musicians, the band has released several albums since, with both reinterpretations of classical Indian devotionals and their own original music.
In 2011, they released their sixth album, Namaste Saté (Greetings Truth), along with a DVD called Sau Guna (100 Fold) of music videos filmed in India.
Hale now lives in Toronto with his wife, Canadian singer-songwriter Miranda Stone. Hicks lives in Athens, Georgia with his wife Fiona and twin daughters, Anala and Nishta.
Aradhna recently finished a tour of North America, playing to audiences in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Texas, Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania, Alberta and Ontario, among others. Venues included churches, homes, clubs, a bar, universities, community centers, yoga studios and a bed and breakfast.
“We'll play anywhere," Hicks says, adding that on previous world tours they have played in Hindu temples, a Buddhist temple, a Vietnamese Buddhist temple and a Sikh gurdwara.
Beyond our shores
They also have a strong following with what Hale calls “white audiences who are interested in the world beyond their shores."
“A lot of North American Christians are absolutely fed up with western music," Hale says, “and they feel guilty about it. So when they discover Aradhna's music, they can rest safely in the knowledge the music is centred on Christ, and yet venture out beyond their own shores and be blessed."
Hicks adds, “Having experienced myself the magic of the music to soothe the mind and soul, and give space for God to speak, I want to get it out there....It was an incredible experience to be pulled close to God with music and words from an eastern land. Of course, once we get our hands on it, it does become more western in its style, but that's just part of who we are. This music is a reminder to us of the many spices and colors that make up the wholeness of God."
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