Prem Joshua () is a German musician, active since 1969.

Born in the south of Germany in 1958, Joshua learned to play the

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

at the age of five and played this instrument and the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

since the age of 12 in various local bands. At the age of 18, he traveled overland to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

studying the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

music of

countries A country is a distinct part of the Earth, world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, List of states with limited r ...

along the way. Joshua was the name his parents gave him, he later was given the prefix "Prem" from his spiritual master

Osho Rajneesh (born Chandra Mohan Jain; 11 December 193119 January 1990), also known as Acharya Rajneesh, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, and later as Osho (), was an Indian godman, philosopher, mystic and founder of the Rajneesh movement. He was viewed ...

, dropping the family name, to remind him of the essence of Love (Prem means "Love" in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

). Prem Joshua cites sitarist Ravi Shankar as an early musical influence. On reaching India, Joshua learned to play the

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

with Ustad Usman Khan as well as the Indian Bansoori (Indian bamboo flute).

inspired him and his music. His website states that "In the presence of this man with a long white beard, eyes as deep as the ocean and a strong sense of humor, he came in touch with the art of the “inner music” - Silence. This was really coming home!" Throughout his career, he has experimented with various forms of music, creating a blend of the

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and the

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. He has also worked extensively with other producers, making remixes of his own songs and infusing traditional Hindustani acoustic instruments with

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge or train lounge (e.g., Amtrak's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

and

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

beats. His music has immensely contributed to the

Asian Underground Asian underground is a term associated with various British Asian, South Asian Canadian, South Asian American and Dutch South Asian musicians (mostly Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan) who blend elements of Western underground dance ...

and fusion scene. In 1991, Prem Joshua, Kora player,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Ravi, and

Sarod The sarod is a stringed instrument, used in Hindustani music on the Indian subcontinent. Along with the sitar, it is among the most popular and prominent instruments. It is known for a deep, weighty, introspective sound, in contrast with the sweet ...

player, Chinmaya Dunster launched their project “Terra Incognita”. They released two albums, "No Goal But The Path" and "Tribal Gathering". He subsequently released four solo albums and co-founded the band, “Hamsafar”, with which he released the album - "Lifeprints" in 1998. HAMSAFAR split up in 2000, after the band had reached quite a peak in their career, playing extensive concerts in Germany, France, Holland, Denmark and Italy and a well received concert at the "Shantipi"-festival in Israel in front of 10.000 people. After the split, Prem Joshua played in smaller formations with Manish Vyas and dancer Hina Sarojini. Until he formed "Prem Joshua & Band" in 2007 and started touring in Europe and even more in India, where he gained quite a reputation in fusing classical Indian music with western contemporary styles. In his records, Prem Joshua had begun to experiment with genres like

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

, and

, while still focusing on classical

Indian music Owing to India's vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include classical music, folk, rock, and pop. It has a history spanning several millennia and developed over several ...

Terra Incognita band members

* Prem Joshua: Sitar, Bansoori, Saxophone, Vocals * Ravi: Kora, Guitars, Keyboards, Percussions, Vocals * Chinmaya Dunster: Sarod other members: * Rishi Vlote: Drums, Percussions * Kamal: Bass, Keyboards, Vocals

Hamsafar band members

* Prem Joshua: Sitar, Bansoori, Saxophone, Vocals, 1994 - 2000 * Chintan Schmidt-Relenberg: Bass, Percussions, 1994 - 2000 * Nadama Novak: Keyboards, Percussions, 1994 - 1999 * Jo Shiro Shunyam Körber: Guitars, Vocals, Percussions 1994 - 1998 * Rishi Vlote: Drums, Percussions, Samples, 1994 - 2000 Other Members: * Manish Vyas: Tabla, Vocals, Keyboards, Percussions 1997 - 2000 * Bhakta: Guitars, Groovebox 1998 * Dhinesh Allan Mattuck: Guitars, Keyboards, Percussions: 1999-2000

Prem Joshua & Band members

* Prem Joshua: Sitar, Bansoori, Saxophone, Vocals, Percussions * Chintan Schmidt-Relenberg: Keyboards, Loops, Percussions, Vocals * Raul Sengupta: Tabla, Percussions, Vocals * Satgyan Fukuda: Bass, Vocals, Percussions

Discography

* Terra Incognita - ''No Goal But The Path'' - New Earth Records, 1991 * Terra Incognita - ''Tribal Gathering'' - New Earth Records, 1992 * Prem Joshua - ''Tales of a Dancing River'' - New Earth Records, 1993 * Prem Joshua - Hamsafar - New Earth Records, 1994 * Hamsafar - ''Lifeprints'' - Renudo, 1998 * Prem Joshua - ''Desert Visions'' - New Earth Records, 1995 * Prem Joshua - ''Secret of the Wind'' - New Earth Records, 1996 * Prem Joshua - ''Mudra''
White Swan Records
1998 * Prem Joshua - '' Sky Kisses Earth'' - White Swan Records, 1999 * Prem Joshua - ''Dance of Shakti'' - White Swan Records, 2001 * Prem Joshua - with Manish Vyas - ''Water Down The Ganges''
Medial Music
2001 * Prem Joshua - ''Shiva Moon - Remixed by Maneesh de Moor'' - Medial Music, 2003 * Prem Joshua - ''Dakini Lounge - Prem Joshua Remixed'' - White Swan Records, 2003 * Prem Joshua - ''Yatri'' - Medial Music, 2004 * Prem Joshua & Chintan - ''Ahir'', Medial Music, 2006 * Prem Joshua - ''Taranga'' - White Swan Records, 2006 * Prem Joshua & Band - ''In Concert'', 2008 * Prem Joshua & Band - ''Luminous Secrets''
Link to Album on Official Website
2010 * Prem Joshua & Chintan - ''Kashi: Songs from the India Within''", 201

* Prem Joshua - ''Breath of Voavah'', 2017 * Prem Joshua - ''Winds of Grace''
Link to Album on www.spotify.com
2020 * Prem Joshua - ''Soma'', 2021

Sources

Prem Joshua - AlbumsWhite Swan Records - Featured Artists - Prem Joshua
*

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

References

External links

Prem Joshua - Official Website

New Earth Records - Official Website

White Swan Records - Official Website

Trident Entertainment - Official Website

Prem Joshua's LastFM Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joshua, Prem German male musicians Sitar players Living people Rajneesh movement Year of birth missing (living people)