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LOVEDRUNK.COM
"This is easily the coolest Rumi recording I've heard."
Stephen Hill, "Hearts of Space" Radio Program
"In Lovedrunk, Shiva proves that Rumi's ideas and images can still resonate with us today."
John Schaefer, "Newsounds" on WNYC-FM and NPR Stations
"The words of Rumi have never sounded more appealing. Set to intricate musical rhythms simplified through the trance-techno sounds of today. The well orchestrated yet concise music and words sensually rendered by Shahram Shiva weave a soundscape that resonates through the body as if it were a tuning fork. Deeply enriching."
Gary Goldberg, "In the Spirit" on WRPI
"Shahram Shiva will restore the exultation of spirit in your Being. This passion will heal you..."
Deepak Chopra
"An evening of hearing Rumis poetry read by Shahram Shiva was pure bliss. Since Shahram is Persian himself, he embodies the heart of Rumis culture as well as the passion of our universal spiritual yearnings. Rich Goodhearts musical mastery of many Eastern instruments is a perfect partner to the poetry. And the whirling just has to be experienced first-hand. So simple and effective, you will touch the essence of Sufi ecstasy in a few easy steps. If you want to know what Sufi mysticism is all about, Shahram Shivas evening of poetry, music, and whirling take you there. After Shiva read Rumi to haunting music, we whirled like stars in the heavens, literally! Try it! Whirling is an amazing, almost out-of-body experience. I cant wait to do it again." Carolyn Whittle
"Mysticism in our midst is the only way to describe Shahram Shiva's events. You will be amazed, moved, and thrilled. Dont miss it." Susan Lunden "I attended the event you held at NYOC last night. I was speechless then and all I can say now is that it was utterly spectacular. I have been around the world and experienced numerous cultural events. This one right here in NY, was the most original, witty, funny and spiritual of all. Thank you for keeping our heritage and literature alive. I told all my friends about you and we will definitely see you in your upcoming performances." Farnaz
"The CD arrived from CDBaby and I put it on straight away. Finally was able to hear the songs not demonstrated here on MySpace. They are, of course, all of the same fine quality as those here. Rumi's verses are such a diamond mine which you so eloquently deliver in English along with the accompanying music. I listened to the entire album straight through twice in row, but it will take a long time to really absorb it. The verses of Rumi retain their magically spell through the ages. You hear one verse that twirls so perfectly balanced as it dances on the razor's edge and cuts to the chase piercing through to your heart. You recover and think: "Aha — this Rumi must have peaked. What more could he say that could touch my heart so again?" And then amazingly another verse comes and then another. Again and again the great Sufi peels away veil after veil revealing the secret of secrets — Love. It puts you in a different place. Your higher self is listening. Absorbing it. There is Truth to it. You certainly cannot read while listening to Rumi's verses. Like so many seem to say in there reviews on CD Baby it helps focus on the inner. Thanx for an extraordinary album. The world needs to hear this!"
Steve
"Sp e c t a c u l a r.....CD!!!!
Everybody should have this CD....it is a revelation to divine love, to the opening of our sacred heart....it is the freeway to finding ourselves....such love, such beauty....so beautifully done..... and so passionate.
I am soooo grateful you are my friend as you are helping me traverse the path towards my own 'becoming' towards my own 'remembering'......
As you so beautiful say in your Cd:
Seven Pearls...
'Become this...fall in love, there is no separation.....do you know what you are? you are a manuscript of a divine letter, you are a mirror reflecting a noble face...this universe is not outside of you....look inside yourself...look inside yourself...everything that you want...you are already that!'
Your voice has the power and knowingness to take us to the Beloved's World...
Thank you ~ Namaste..."
Linda
"Oh, Shahram,
Your CD has captured and captivated me. Helping to keep me in that "lovedrunk" space of the awakened heart. It has come at just the right time (doesn't everything?). I have long loved Rumi ever since the early Seventies in London when the Sufis started me on the Path to Love.
The music, together with the words of the poems you have chosen have been working and working on me. Words become meaningless in this Love place I am in.
I love you."
Khamara
"There are so many days that I have to put on that "mask" to go to work. When I come home and if my daughter is at her dad's and it's just me I take the "mask" off and turn to my music. Because it's always there for me. And now I have found you. To listen to you with my candles burning in the dark, is so good for my soul.
Thank you again,"
Sue
"Your voice and recordings have touched my soul and renewed my spirit. Thank you. . ." Diana
"Your eyes, in person and in this photo, make me feel as if Rumi is looking through them. You translate so much more than his words... you paint pictures in our minds as if our minds were the canvas' and Rumi's thoughts were the colors. Thank you for making Rumi's passion come alive."
Victoria
"I had the pleasure of being at your Woodstock event and I just wanted to take a moment to tell you how much I enjoyed your presentation. I felt joy, peace, and I didn't realize until later but I also felt energized. Thank you for reaffirming those things that I think I know. The music was fabulous and the whole program, well lets just say, it made me smile. Thank you,"
--Susan
Rumi: Lovedrunk is Shahram Shiva's new CD produced in partnership with the pianist Michael Harrison and composer & producer Olivier Glissant. Over two years in the making, this groundbreaking new audio project incorporates more than a dozen talented musicians from Persia, Europe, Latin America and the U.S., and includes original compositions by Glissant and Harrison.
Rumi is the greatest exponent of the ecstatic intoxication of sacred love. Shahram Shiva, Rumi translator, performer and author, captures the essence of the poet's message through his passionate performances. This union of spoken verse and world music melds magic with love.
This new CD blends the exotic and the meditative with hip grooves and inventive arrangements of Glissant, mesmerizing vocals and musicianship of Harrison, and the deep, resonant and hypnotic voice of Shiva.
This meticulously composed and produced CD is much more than a "Spoken Word" project and can be listened to both for the beauty and power of Rumi's words, as well as for the captivating and inspiring mood of the music and poetic images. It is the uncompromising artistic statement of three diverse and committed artists.
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SHAHRAM SHIVA is a performance poet, award-winning translator and scholar of Rumi and author of several books. He is known for his rich and entrancing concerts of Rumi, the 13th Century Persian mystic poet. He was born to a Persian Jewish family in Iran and migrated to the US at the age of 16. Shiva is the only major presenter in the West who performs Rumi's poetry in his own English renditions as well as the original Persian verses. His bilingual English-Persian concerts are Rumi events where the great mystical poet is celebrated with Shiva's unique and passionate recitations of the timeless poetry performed with musical groups of various genres.
Since 1988, Shiva has translated several hundred of Rumi's poems collected in 4 books and continues to translate and perform his work on an ongoing basis. Shiva's access to the original of these exquisite poems forms the basis for his memorable performances and supports his reputation as the most passionate performer/translator of Rumi in the world today.
Shiva's translations of original Rumi poems have also been utilized by Western Rumi interpreters such as Andrew Harvey and Jonathan Star and have been printed in numerous other publications.
Since 1992 Shahram Shiva has been presenting Rumi concerts at the United Nations, Symphony Space, Smithsonian Institution, CAMI Hall, Memorial Hall, Chopra Center, Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Omega Institute, Kripalu, Joyce Theater, LaMama Theater, New York Open Center, Yale, Columbia, New York universities, among others. He is a longtime practitioner of Eastern mystical traditions.
In addition Shiva has devised a new, breakthrough method in teaching the whirling movement, where he has been conducting large-scale workshops since 1995. This method, featured on CNN, is now being taught by a few of Shiva's whirling students, including Deepak Chopra. Also look for Robert Downey Jr., who was trained by Shiva, to whirl in the movie Game 6 (2006).
Shiva is the founder of the Internet's most popular Rumi site, Rumi.net.
His works include:
RUMI: LOVEDRUNK
a recording project.
RUMI, THIEF OF SLEEP: Quatrains from the Persian;
foreword by Deepak Chopra (Hohm Press)
HUSH, DON'T SAY ANYTHING TO GOD: Passionate Poems of Rumi
(Jain Publishing)
RENDING THE VEIL: Literal and Poetic Translations of Rumi;
Recipient of The Benjamin Franklin Award (Hohm Press)
A GARDEN BEYOND PARADISE: The Mystical Poetry of Rumi
(Bantam Books)
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