We are also forever delighted that East-West hosted Shambhu’s sold-out performance last November with David DiLullo and friends…and we hope to set up a new concert date soon.

The photos above and below are part of a transformation that I’m helping promote. I work with ThingLink but I’m also a musician. And a lucky one that I get to pioneer something I feel is truly new, innovative and important.

Like lots of indie musicians, I’m always looking for new ways to promote and share information about my music. In this case, I’m promoting my debut CD, Sacred Love.

Now this is a post about images but I get to be the star too — so check out the photo below. I’m bronzed like Hans Solo in Star Trek.

You’ll notice small dots inside the image. They are called ThingLinks: in-image links from inside this photo to any place I choose. The tags act like channels to information I want to share. The tags are easy to set up with a description (250 characters) and URL. In this case, I set up ThingLinks to my blog, my latest press release, my Twitter and Facebook pages, to my photographer’s website, and there’s a surprise.

There is a Sound Player embedded in this image. Click on the play button and my song, Edge of Eternal, plays.

That is cool!

So for musicians like me, that photo – which I was only able to observe before – has become something more than a beautiful composite by photographer Mario Covic. It’s now an information wallet I can share throughout my social network.

Here are some things I can do with Thinglinked images that help me socialize me images:

• Announce my ThingLinked photo to friends and fans on Facebook and Twitter, and email a link. Fans can do the same. If ‘m lucky, I made a new fan. Thanks to this ThingLinked photo.
• Embed a photo with ThingLinks… in my other blogs and websites. The links stay in the image. And fans can share it, too.
• Allow readers to add their OWN ThingLinks to the image. I wonder where fans would place links.
• Receive stats from ThingLink (as part of a free account) on how many people are interacting with my images with views, hovers and clicks.

Try hovering your mouse over the image and I put links into – and see what comes up.

After you sign up at ThingLink.com, you add three lines of code to your blog or website page. ThingLink works on websites and blogging platforms. If you’re hosting a WordPress site, there is a beta ThingLink plug-in that you can download via WordPress.

Have fun and share your stories.

Calm all thought and quiet sound and stop movement

and just breathe slowly and close your eyes

and feel Love Love Love of Love itself.

And just be. Be grateful ….for having been …..

a Happy start of 2011.

~Shambhu

Photo by Mario Covic

“Though Shambhu’s approach on his compositions and arrangements is clearly in the “calm” zone, it’s the timeless kind of music that demolishes genre labeling and makes you fall in love with all of the dozen tunes on it!

I particularly loved “Eyes Of A Child” for that laid-back (yet high-energy) approach.  Variety is a hallmark, too… just listen to the wonderfully moving “Natural Moment” to get a taste of the love this gent is radiating.

It was the beautiful overtones on “Shiva Grove” that captured my pick as favorite, though… simple, but beautiful – a wonderful way to start 2011!

I give this one a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, as well as an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.98… it also gets the “PICK” of this issue for “most inspiring music”.  ~Rotcod Zzaj

Read the complete review

Produced by Will Ackerman and engineered by Corin Nelsen (do these two ever sleep?), Sacred Love bubbles over with influences ranging from world beat to jazz to New Age to traditional Indian, all flowing into a musical melting pot, a sumptuously delicious smorgasbord of melody and rhythm (the tracks range from jaunty and joyful to subdued and meditative).

Featuring one of the longest lists of accompanists to grace an Ackerman-produced album, everyone involved contributes, and the sheer virtuosity is mind-boggling. Strongly recommend this album to your fans of the gone-but-not-forgotten band Shadowfax.

~ Bill Binkelman

When you integrate one proficient acoustic guitarist with select vocalists and instrumentalists, along with the skillful production talents of Windham Hill Records founder and Grammy Winner Will Ackerman, the final product might expectedly be a top rated album compiled by dedicated music professionals that virtually everyone would love and appreciate.

Shambhu is the proficient guitarist clearly asserting in his website news pages that his first album has truly been a “ labor of love “ while composing, performing and co-producing with Will Ackerman, along with his time spent working beside other top music professionals. This I can believe since at the end of the day, Shambhu and his insightful selection of collaborating musicians has paid off rather handsomely, and by their collective time spent together, have helped convert this debut release into a commodity of premium value.

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Rev. Kedar leads the congregation in song. Many songs. It is a beautiful service and if you’re ever on Maui, this is the place to celebrate your spirit. There is a beautiful gift shop and some cleansing health services are available.

Thanks to my friend Kit Thomas and Rev. Kedar, for giving me the opportunity to offer two songs there on my first Sunday on Maui.

Thanks to percussionist Dave DiLullo who organized the Global Heart Concert II which featured Shambhu and his new CD, Sacred Love.

We’ll be posting more video from the show this coming week.

Posted at MainlyPiano.com

Sacred Love is a fascinating and inspiring collection of twelve pieces composed and performed by guitar virtuoso Shambhu and co-produced by Grammy Award-winning Windham Hill-founder Will Ackerman. Styles range from quiet meditations to Indian-jazz fusion, and some very impressive musicians join Shambhu on a wide variety of instruments. To quote Shambhu: “my work has one goal: to convey a celestial abode in music and superb musicianship that invite listeners to explore, enjoy and reflect within…. Sacred Love invites full-on, soulful listening.” While it’s true that this music won’t stay in the background, it can provide a colorful backdrop for other activities. The blending of Eastern and Western musical traditions gives Shambhu’s music a very distinctive sound, and the incredible team of Ackerman and engineer Corin Nelsen makes the quality of that sound as close to perfection as it can get.

Sacred Love opens with “Together,” a joyful and optimistic piece that features Charlie Bisharat on violin, Premik Russell Tubbs on wind synth, and Tony Levin on bass – a great beginning! “Edge of Eternal” is quieter and more subdued, and features Imaginary Road regulars Jill Haley on English horn, Eugene Friesen on cello, and Noah Wilding on wordless vocals – lovely! “Eyes of a Child” is a gorgeous guitar solo that “expresses the illumination of a child who still marvels at the beauty of simplicity and the simplicity of beauty.” My favorite track is “Natural Moment,” a lively and upbeat celebration of oneness and cultural diversity. Shambhu performs on guitars, sitar, synth pads, and kalimba backed by Tony Levin, Charlie Bisharat, Jeff Haynes (percussion), and Rocky Fretz (piano). If you can keep your body still while listening to this one, you really need to loosen up a bit! “Revelation” is another favorite. It begins as a graceful duet for guitar and cello, later adding English horn, bass, and light percussion. A slow, tranquil flow creates a musical daydream. “Maui Breeze” is as light and refreshing as its title. Claytoven Richardson (vocals) and Jeff Oster (flugelhorn) also appear on this track. “Shiva Grove” is an east/west jazz fusion with sax (George Brooks) and flute (Ravichandra Kulur) soaring over the chordal guitar foundation. “Humility” is the concluding bonus track, and is a duet for guitar and flute (Kulur). Also an east/west fusion, it conveys gratitude and humility before “the Source of Creation” and brings this exciting album to a close.

There is a 25-webisode series on the making of Sacred Love on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/shambhumusic) that is well worth checking out. The album is available from ShambhuMusic.com, Amazon, iTunes, and CD Baby. Recommended!

Kathy Parsons
MainlyPiano.com

The lush sounds tell each story and the notes in the CD booklet are provided to bring you out to the other side, a guided meditation if you will. I put this on in the morning a few times while getting my work day started and it has does wonders for my attitude. Rather than cranking up some rock tunes and getting all wired I have recently taken the lighter path and it has served me well. Working stress free is much more productive. I somehow think that this music was not meant for people to work along to but you do whatever works for you and if you can use this music as a positive tool then so be it!

There are 12 tracks on this CD and it is put together with the utmost care and professionalism, it is truly a work of art for those seeking enlightenment of any kind through music. I give the artist all the credit in the world for taking time away from his profession to complete his lifelong dream and then share it with those open enough to receive it. Shambhu is a truly blessed individual with a gift he is willing to share with the world.  Sacred Love Feel The Journey is a lesson in self acceptance and the road to peace within and I am glad I found it.

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