Karunesh
Encyclopedia
Karunesh is a German
-born New Age
and ambient
musician. His music has strong Asia
n and Indian
influences prevalent throughout, with liberal use of Indian instruments, such as the sitar
. Having sold 450,000 albums, Karunesh is one of the best-known New Age artists.
Karunesh was born in Cologne
, Germany in 1956. Although he had been drawn to music as a child and played in bands as a teenager, he chose to study graphic design
as a career. However, after attaining his degree, Karunesh was involved in a serious motorcycle
accident. His brush with death prompted him to choose music as a career instead of graphic design. He rethought his life and embarked on a spiritual journey of sorts, traveling in 1979 to India
, where he met Osho
in his ashram
in Pune
. He became initiated and took on a new spiritual name, Karunesh, a Sanskrit
name meaning "master of compassion".
Back in Germany, Karunesh lived in the Rajneesh
commune of Hamburg
for five years. Here he could develop his musical creativity in a spiritual surrounding. He came in contact with many musicians from all over the world and developed an ability to weave different styles and feelings from different cultures together in a living symbiosis
, creating a music that is both spiritual and danceable.
In 1987, Karunesh released his first album, entitled Sounds of the Heart, which is regarded as a classic of New Age music. Sounds of the Heart was followed by Colors Of Light the following year and by Sky's Beyond the year after that. As of 2006 Karunesh has released 17 albums.
Karunesh has lived in Maui
, in the U.S. state of Hawaii
, since 1992.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
musician. His music has strong Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n and Indian
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
influences prevalent throughout, with liberal use of Indian instruments, such as the sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
. Having sold 450,000 albums, Karunesh is one of the best-known New Age artists.
Karunesh was born in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany in 1956. Although he had been drawn to music as a child and played in bands as a teenager, he chose to study graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
as a career. However, after attaining his degree, Karunesh was involved in a serious motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
accident. His brush with death prompted him to choose music as a career instead of graphic design. He rethought his life and embarked on a spiritual journey of sorts, traveling in 1979 to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where he met Osho
Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh)
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
in his ashram
Ashram
Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Indian cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction, the moral equivalent of a studio or dojo....
in Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
. He became initiated and took on a new spiritual name, Karunesh, a Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
name meaning "master of compassion".
Back in Germany, Karunesh lived in the Rajneesh
Rajneesh
Osho , born Chandra Mohan Jain , and also known as Acharya Rajneesh from the 1960s onwards, as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s and as Osho from 1989, was an Indian mystic, guru, and spiritual teacher who garnered an international following.A professor of philosophy, he travelled...
commune of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
for five years. Here he could develop his musical creativity in a spiritual surrounding. He came in contact with many musicians from all over the world and developed an ability to weave different styles and feelings from different cultures together in a living symbiosis
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
, creating a music that is both spiritual and danceable.
In 1987, Karunesh released his first album, entitled Sounds of the Heart, which is regarded as a classic of New Age music. Sounds of the Heart was followed by Colors Of Light the following year and by Sky's Beyond the year after that. As of 2006 Karunesh has released 17 albums.
Karunesh has lived in Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, in the U.S. state of Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, since 1992.
Discography
- 1984 Sounds of the Heart
- 1987 Colours of Light
- 1989 Sky's Beyond
- 1990 Heart Symphony
- 1992 Heart Chakra Meditation
- 1994 Beyond Body & Mind
- 1998 Secrets of Life
- 1997 Osho Chakra Sounds(Note: Co-artist 'Osho' is sometimes dropped from the title)
- 2000 Global Spirit
- 2001 The Wanderer (May 8, 2001)
- 2001 Zen Breakfast (July 10, 2001)
- 2001 Silent Heart
- 2002 Nirvana Cafe
- 2002 Way of the Heart
- 2003 Beyond Heaven
- 2004 Call Of the Mystic (May 11, 2004)
- 2006 Global Village (April 11, 2006)
- 2006 Joy of Life (October 24, 2006)
- 2008 Enlightenment (Jun 24, 2008)
- 2009 Heart Chakra Meditation 2 - coming home http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P7MWIS
- 2010 Path of Compassion (Apr 20, 2010)
- 2010 Beyond Time - compilation http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003I4VL7G