Michael Allison (August 7, 1958 – January 9, 2020), who recorded under the name Darshan Ambient, was an American musician and vocalist known for his

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

Life and career

Allison attended

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

, and in his mid-teens became lead singer of a rock band, Brimstone. He then joined another band, Skyway, as bass player, and toured widely with them in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

and

the South The United Kingdom has a well developed and extensive network of roads totalling about . Road distances are shown in miles or yards and UK speed limits are indicated in miles per hour (mph) or by the use of the national speed limit (NSL) symbol ...

. When he was 18, he met musician Naux (Juan Maciel), who introduced him to the teachings of

Paramahansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian and American Hindu monk, yoga, yogi and guru who introduced millions to meditation and Kriya Yoga school, Kriya Yoga through his organization, Self ...

. Allison later said that: "From that time on, musically, everything I wrote was geared towards a form of

Self-Realization Self-realization is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology, and spirituality; and in Indian religions. In the Western understanding, it is the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality" (see also ...

. It became cathartic for me to make music that actually produced something positive in people." With Naux, Allison played in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in bands such as

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady Ma ...

's Zero Cool,

Richard Hell and the Voidoids Richard Hell and the Voidoids were an American punk rock band, formed in New York City in 1976 and fronted by Richard Hell, a former member of the Neon Boys, Television (band), Television and the Heartbreakers. History Kentucky-born Richard H ...

, and China Shop. In 1984, he formed his own band, Empty House, who played at

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Country, Bluegrass, Blue ...

, TRAX, and the

Pyramid Club Pyramid Club may refer to the following night clubs: * Pyramid Club (New York City) The Pyramid Club was a nightclub in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. After opening in 1979, the Pyramid helped define the East Village drag queen, ...

, where they became the regular house band. "A Day Within Days: AV Talks with Michael Allison aka Darshan Ambient", ''Ambient Visions'', 2010
Retrieved 23 January 2020 Allison left New York in 1987 and moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, where – influenced by musicians such as

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

and

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

– he began to make ambient electronic music independently of major record labels. Using the name Darshan, from a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word meaning "divine vision", and later adding the word "Ambient" to distinguish his music from that of an existing band called Darshan, he started to record and release his own music in 1992. His albums included ''Providence'' (2002), ''The Zen Master’s Diary'' (2002), ''Autumn’s Apple'' (2004), ''From Pale Hands To Weary Skies'' (2008), ''A Day Within Days'' (2010), and ''Dream In Blue'' (2011). His music was used in several films, documentaries, and commercials. He joined the Lotuspike label in 2004, and Spotted Peccary Music in 2008, releasing a total of 14 albums with the labels over that period. A compilation of his work, ''Re: Karma'', was released in 2005. His 2008 album ''From Pale Hands To Weary Skies'' won Best Ambient Album at the 2008 NAR Lifestyle Music Awards.ZMR, "2008 NAR Lifestyle Music Awards"
Retrieved 23 January 2020 His final album, ''A Day Like Any Other'', was released in January 2020. Allison died in 2020, aged 61, from cancer.
Retrieved 23 January 2020 "Spotted Peccary Music and Fans Mourn the Passing of Michael Allison aka Darshan Ambient", ''Skopemag'', January 14, 2020
Retrieved 23 January 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allison, Michael 1958 births 2020 deaths American ambient musicians 21st-century American musicians Deaths from cancer in the United States