Sean Johnson And The Wild Lotus Band
New Orleans mantra musicians Sean Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band (Alvin Young and Gwendolyn Colman) are celebrated as one of the leading voices in western kirtan music, known for their dynamic sound that merges mantras, rock, funk, and world grooves. The band is a favorite headliner at festivals and conferences worldwide including Yoga Journal and they are the first kirtan band to ever play The New Orleans Jazz Festival, detailed in the article below published in Elephant Journal. Their new album Devaloka is the band's debut release on Nettwerk/Nutone Records, Canada's largest independent record label, and home of such eclectic artists as Sarah McLauchlan, Barenaked Ladies, Jars Of Clay, Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), and Lisa Gerrard (Dead Can Dance) as well as renowned chant artists Krishna Das, Jai Uttal, David Newman, Bhagavan Das, and more. Sean also worked closely co-curating and writing the liner notes for Putumayo World Music's album Yoga, that features the band’s music along with many other inspiring world music artists. Their music is also included on the Sounds True compilation Kirtan Nation. The band tours the U.S. and abroad playing music festivals, yoga studios, retreat centers, concert halls, and celebrations year-round.
Vocalist and harmonium player Sean Johnson is the founder of the band. He’s been leading kirtan across the U.S. and abroad for the last fourteen years. His voice is equally influenced by vocal exploration of his ancestral Irish heritage as well as study in Indian vocal music and love of the path of bhakti yoga-- the yoga of the heart. Sean is also the founder of Wild Lotus Yoga studios in his native New Orleans and Soul School, an interdisciplinary yoga and spirituality teacher training program. Sean is also one of a core group of founders of The New Orleans Healing Center, a 55,000 square foot community center in downtown New Orleans dedicated to creating healing and sustainability through culture, food, art, music, yoga, dance, ecology, education, and more. He has a Master’s degree from The Naropa Institute with a focus on teaching chant as spiritual practice. He shares the practice of mantra in an inviting and accessible way that taps into the universal spirit of life and music- weaving stories, myths, and poetry. Grammy nominated kirtan artist Jai Uttal says “Sean’s voice is a warm, soothing river of serenity.”
Bass and guitar player and New Orleans' native Alvin Young spent years on the fabled Crescent City music scene playing with Wynton and Branford Marsalis, local legends James Booker and James Black and many more. His voice on bass and guitar weaves the jazz, rock, classical, and folk styles he's been immersed in for the last 35 years. The hallmark of Alvin's expression on the bass is a rare and deeply melodic quality that illuminates the trio's sound. Music has been a pivotal part of Alvin’s spiritual journey.
Percussionist and singer Gwendolyn Colman brings a unique ethnic sound to the band with years of experience drumming with middle eastern ensembles, flamenco troupes, and avant garde bands. Her ‘ride’ includes frame drums, cajon, high hat, kick drum, doumbek, and karkobs, playing with merging ancient rhythms with a modern, urban flare. Gwendolyn can move seamlessly from a traditional middle eastern trance rhythm, to subtle jazz brushwork, to a New Orleans hip hop street groove. Her powerful vocals are influenced by early opera training. Gwendolyn’s spiritual quest has led her from Rastafarian to Baha'i to yoga - with the heartbeat of her drum always at the center.
Together Sean, Alvin, and Gwendolyn create a contemporary world-spirit music that evokes and expands on the magic and mystical feelings first stirred in the pioneering golden age of East-West musical exploration in the 1960's. The soul of New Orleans meets the spirit of India.
Sean Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band's 2007 release Calling The Spirits, with its funky, tropical kirtan sound, has become a big hit in the yoga world. Their rocking, groove-driven Nettwerk/Nutone debut Devaloka released in September 2009 has already expanded their ever-widening audience, consistently ranking in the top 100 world music charts on I-Tunes since its release. The band tours worldwide playing at music festivals, yoga studios, concert halls, retreat centers, and yoga conferences.
For bookings contact manager Jackie Dobrinska at SeanJohnsonAndTheWildLotusBand@Gmail.com
What Others Have To Say About Sean Johnson And The Wild Lotus Band
"Devaloka is a veritable kirtan cauldron of simmering, bubbling, delectable chants that fluidly traverse the myriad of musical styles Sean & the band bring to the stage. The gumbo feeling they bring from the gulf jives well with the musical blendings that bring to mind Grateful Dead jams, a little Santana spice in the percussion section, and an all around endearing space that draws you in with each listen. All in all, it's understandable why other chanting luminaries like Jai Uttal are so eager to endorse this group, as Sean manages to spread his bayou magic from ocean to ocean, inside and out. In Jai's words, "Sean's voice is a warm soothing river of serenity". Diving right in is the recommended plan."--Lloyd Barde, Music Editor, Common Ground Magazine, San Francisco
"A joy to listen to whether you're a yogi or anyone who appreciates wildly creative music." - Yoga Journal
"Their music will ignite the world...a hybrid of East and West that will bring joy to your heart and get your body boogieing." - Yoga Chicago
"Perhaps the most powerful version of “I’ll Fly Away” at the 2010 New Orleans Jazz Festival came from Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band. As he droned it as a private dirge in the Lagniappe Stage, his intensity silenced the talkers and sat those who wanted to dance or rhythmically clap, which would have forced a beat on a version that worked just fine without one." - Alex Rawls, Offbeat Magazine
"Sean's voice is warm, soothing river of serenity."--Jai Uttal, Grammy-nominated Kirtan singer
“Sean and The Wild Lotus Band crack your heart open into a million pieces of sweetness.” --Dana Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi, Laughing Lotus Yoga, NYC & SF
"Their music is capable of being energetic, grounding, mellow, tender, sweet - eerie, rapturous and blissful all at once." - Marie Carter Yoga City, NYC
“Truly an awesome experience! - a musical gumbo to stir your soul. Sean has the voice of a deva, an angel - and the band is full of swing, soul, rock, jazz and healing vibrations.” --Saul David Raye, founder, Sacred Movement, L.A.
"If you think that a kirtan is a pious sit-still event, you have obviously not heard Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band! A very wise man (George Clinton) once said, “Free your mind and your ass will follow.” Sean, Gwendolyn and Alvin have taken those words to heart and bring a little soul to some amazing bhakti (devotional) music." -- Lisa West, Elephant Journal
“Calling The Spirits is destined to become one of the most well regarded recordings in the world of chant music.” – Bette Timm, Aura Magazine
"Imagine if Krishna Das and The Funky Meters teamed up on some tunes and you might get a sound similar to Sean Johnson And The Wild Lotus Band. But why try to box this talented group in, they are a bold and refreshing face in Kirtan style music." -- Namaste Y'all
"Johnson's music and teachings pay homage to the ancient lineage but also serve as a breathing art form. The talented singer acts like a beacon for Bhakti yoga." -- Tess Ghilaga, Fit Yoga Magazine
"Sean is living proof of the power of the hatha yogi who also understands the power of sound. This, I believe, is the future of yoga, especially in the West, where a unique yogic culture is being developed" - Russill Paul, chant recording artist and author of 'The Yoga of Sound'
"Sean Johnson's kirtan will ignite the world! Starting on slow simmer, Calling The Spirits is a jazzy hybrid of East and West that will bring joy to your heart and get your body boogieing!"- Yoga Chicago Magazine
"The band takes the essence of the bayou and merges it with Indian spiritual music for a sound that bubbles with soul and unbridled passion." - Dan Cowan, Music Design In Review
“Some serious energy flowing in every chant—there is plenty of sweetness and devotion here.” Michael Mollura, LA Yoga Magazine
"Their music has always moved and astonished me. The melding of the depth of mantra with rockin' grooves soothes my American yogini soul." -- Debi Buzil, Yoga Chicago Magazine
"When I spin Seán's CD World Peace Chants' on World Journey, the response is always immediate ... always positive! Whether we come from the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, or African Roots traditions, World Peace Chants reminds us that the spirit of love has no borders. The album is a jewel whose international facets reflect a good groove and instant balm for the 21st century soul." -- The World Journey Goddess, WWOZ-90.7 FM, New Orleans