“Karavan Sarai’s music is thick, clear and fills a space without pressure but with pleasure like love it warms a room.   To draw on the great traditions and bring the prayers of century’s into CoSM is a real blessing for us.  I loved it. “ 

-Alex Grey (visionary artist, co-founder of CoSM)

We had the absolute pleasure of hosting Karavan Sarai at the Sanctuary Koh Phangan March 2019. Incredible, fantastic, tantalising are just three words i’d use in describing the performance :) the best !

-Nolan James Dalby (GM),

The Sanctuary, Thailand

“This is contemporary spiritual world-music of the highest caliber. Incredible production fused with masterful playing. And the tantric interplay of dancer and musician is stunning. The performance exceeded our already high expectations of what Karavan Sarai would bring to the festival.”

-Rob Weber

Co-founder and Music Director,

Bali Spirit Festival

You can almost taste the spices and smell the sweat of the Silk Road, the kicked-up dirt from millions of footsteps bringing the magic and mysticism of the East to Western palates over the course of centuries. This is no mere fancy; Painted Sands is an electronic ensemble born out of the many Asian countries along the ancient Silk Road, where composer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Narayan Sijan lived and performed between 1994 and 2006.

Like the ancient trade route itself, Painted Sands has a story of cultural interaction and a trading of traditions from Asia, India, and across the Middle East. Sijan plays a range of traditional instruments including the Egyptian oud and Turkish saz lutes with an authenticity and passion handed down from the masters he encountered during his time on the road. His musicianship weaves effortlessly with traditional dance and infectious electronic beats courtesy of Schirin Chams-Diba and producer and programmer Carmen Rizzo of world/electronic act Niyaz, whose credits include Seal, Paul Oakenfold, and AR Rahman. The result is a sensual assault; a tapestry of music and movement that is as restless and seeking as the travelers it evokes.

-SONGLINES

Torn in Love (2020), #22 ON THE BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUMS OF 2020 IN N. AMERICA, 12 WEEKS IN THE TOP 10 WORLD MUSIC CHARTS (NACC 2020)

Painted Sands (2018) peaked at #4 on the World Music Charts with over 10 Weeks in the Top Ten

Woven Landscapes (2015) peaked at #6 on the World Music Charts

"Contemporary sonic edge without compromising the integrity of the traditions they represent."

– Shepherd Express

"The sound quality and production values in this recording are excellent sounding, at times, like a well-funded film score or a recording from Real World. Karavan Sarai can also produce evocative, easily accessible music which will be of interest to seasoned world music listeners as well as newcomers."

–fRoots