BIO
Narayan SIjan was born into a family of famous artists/performers from the Balkans and Spain. From an early age in Mid-West America he was a natural on stage.
In 1994 Narayan lived in Asia for over 12 years on a shoe string budget, choosing to rather live with and like the locals then a life of comfort. He cherished these lands and continues to visit since.. He has studied and performed ethnic music from such countries as India, Turkey and Egypt for over 24 years. The mystical side of these cultures has given his music a sacred devotional tone. Composing original music to re-arranged traditional music has made Narayan an innovative and successful musician in the very busy world music scene. He mainly performs on the Arabic Oud, Turkish Saz and vocals to add a warm tone to his hypnotic music.
Narayan draws from the treasure chest of his life’s experiences. He creates an alchemy of music, storytelling and beauty. It is close to his heart to touch all listeners deeply with his dynamic creativity and mystically mesmerizing sound.
Schirin Chams-Diba is the primary dancer/choreographer of Karavan Sarai. She travelled the globe experiencing and learning from the traditions and master teachers of various sacred, classical and folkloric dances. From the Romani (Gypsy) trail, the Middle East, Central Asia and India Schirin immersed herself in the practical and philosophical studies of Classical and Mystical Persian Dance, Classical and Folkloric Indian Dance, Sacred Dances of the Silk Road, Flamenco and Roma Dances. The strongest personal transmissions of dance understanding came from her teachers Shahrazad, Tais, Helia Bandeh and Miriam Peretz. Schirin is currently part of Miriam’s ‘Nava’ dance collective. At a very auspicious time in India her dance was blessed by Shashimani Devi the last devadasi temple dancer .
As a multi-disciplinary world dance artist, Schirin intends to preserve rooted traditions and the spirit of various cultures through their dances as a rich tapestry of divine expression. She regularly performs dance with world-renown musical acts such as Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Stellamara, Karavan Sarai, Sua Devi (Latcho Drom), Beats Antique, Jillina Carlano’s Bellydance Evolution. schirinchamsdiba.com
Producer, artist, electronic musician, composer, DJ, remixer, and two-time Grammy nominee Carmen Rizzo has had a very eclectic career, from writing, engineering and programming on Seal’s classic album Seal 2 to producing and writing for Paul Oakenfold’s Bunka album, and from collaborating with Tuvan throat singers Huun Huur Tu to co-founding the groundbreaking world music/electronic act Niyaz (whose three albums all debuted at #1 on the iTunes world music chart).
Carmen is a frequent fixture in album credits, working with such artists as Coldplay, Seal, Perry Farrell, Alanis Morissette, Dido, Jem, AR Rahman, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Khaled, Michael Nyman, and Pete Townshend, as well as with record producers Trevor Horn, Rob Cavallo, David Foster and Marius De Vries. He has recorded all over the world, from Abbey Road studios (UK) and Studio Plus XXX (Paris) to Record Plant (L.A.) and Studio 301 (Australia), among others. carmenrizzo.com