Music Style Ambient

Musical Influences Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Frank Zappa, Deuter, Pink Floyd

Similar Artists Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Jean-Michel Jarre, Krafwerk, Bassic, Mystical Sun

Group Members Sanjiva

Instruments All kinds of synth, all kind of acoustic intruments from all over the world

Albums The journey, initiation, Essence, Radiance, Origin, Tales from the land of Osho, Who is in?, The sun and the moon, Transparent, Human anonymous

Press Reviews The Journey Review by Annibale Picicci - 030 Berlin Magazin, Edition Nr. 20.1 On "The Journey ", the Canadian musician and producerSanjiva, who has stayed in India for long periods, thus counting Goa among his experiences, offers excellent Ambient - Trance, which also radiates a profound effect on the listener. The meditative flow on "The Journey "cannot be compared with other productions. It is one of the most sensitive and delicate productions of this kind. ****************************************************************************************** Origin Review by Reinheart Kypke "Origin" is a CD for pampered ears, which have a hard time finding new and really good stuff in this post Goa-Era. The spectrum reaches from Ambient to Hardtrance. Sanjiva has lived in India for several years and played live sets on many a party. The Spirit of Goa cannot be missed in his music. The listener is lifted into this atmosphere, it seduces him into dreaming, only to make him dance to the crunchy beat shortly after. "Secret Rooms" spins the raving crowd into a screaming Energy wave!" ****************************************************************************************** Initiation Sanjiva: "The Journey . Origin . Essence . Initiation . Radiance" Review by Archie Patterson, Eurock I discovered Sanjiva via the excellent Spanish online publication Amazing Sounds. Hailing from Canada, these 5 CDs released in Germany, contain some of the most stunning musical cross pollination of electronic styles I've come across in some time. Fuse a hint of ambient trance, with celestial space music and experimental sound collage techniques, then bind them together with some of the most pulsing Teutonic sequential riffing that I've heard in ages and the result is 5 discs of sonic surrealism that made my ears ring when I first heard them. All the elements are combined in the right quantity to make Sanjiva one of the most exciting discoveries for me in quite a while. Beautiful conceptual art packaging illustrates their provocative sonic to perfection. For more information on Eurock visit: www.eurock.com ****************************************************************************************** Initiation Review at Splendid E-Zine Depending upon how much ambient-trance music you've been exposed to, you'll either be astonished by the clarity and simplicity of this work or be able to list in bloody detail several discs that sound exactly like it. That doesn't mean it's bad -- Initiation is a pleasant, relaxing disc of slow, womblike keyboard melodies well-suited to meditation, office listening or whatever, really. The fact that Sanjiva is a composer and philosopher, rather than a twenty-something knob-twidler, also helps in some intangible way. At worst, Initiation is familiar; at best, it's soothing and refreshing. gz ****************************************************************************************** Initiation Review at Wind and Wire © 1997 From the canadian electronic musician Sanjiva comes this high octane trip into sequencer land. The first song "A Comet Fly Fast" has synth arpeggios and rapid synth bass beats that start at a rapid pace and stay there for almost all of the song’s ten minutes. The music is peppered with interesting percussive effects and synth textures as well. If you’re a fan of Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze, this should be to your liking. Near the end of the song the music subtly morphs and leaves the rhythm behind. It’s replaced by weird rumbling synth washes and cosmic noodlings. We must be headed for space - not the deep space of a John Serrie or Meg Bowles, but the computer of German electronic music. Here we have some slower rhythms - the song is more of a relaxed and mysterious cruiser. It reminds me a little of the work that John Carpenter and Alan Howarth did for some of Carpenter´s earlier films (The Fog, Escape from New York). "Four Dimensional Interaction" throws tribal rhythms and stylings into the mix, and to good effect. Imagine a more electronic O Yuki Conjugate. Whispering flutes begin the last song, "Re-Awakening the Buddha Instinct." This song is drifting and very serene, as synth washes flow and cascade over one another. Since I don´t have many Tangerine Dream CDs and none by Klaus Schulze (heresy, I know), I realize my comparing Sanjiva to them is based on my limited exposure to those artists. But wether my comparison is accurate or not, Initiation is a polished recording of high gloss electronic music. The rhythms are insistent, the synths are synthy, and the music slowly unfolds over time in subtle shifts of electronic sands. Initiation, with all its Germanesque flavors, is actually fairly diverse. This is not monochromatic music by a long stretch. If you´re a fan of synthesizer music in a German vein, seek this one out. I doubt you´ll be disappointed. by Bill Binkelmann ****************************************************************************************** Radiance Review by Lloyd Barde, Backroads Music Sanjiva is an artist from Canada who records on Germany's 96 Sounds label. He carries an air of mystery about him, and his catalog of five albums each has spiritually cryptic titles, like "Essence," "Origin," - which were his first two, very upbeat, releases - "The Journey," "Initiation," and now, with his latest energetic effort, "Radiance". His first releases were very techno sounding, with hard-driving rhythms and little space between the notes. On "The Journey," which attracted a lot of attention through radio airplay on syndicated shows nationwide, Sanjiva let the air out a bit and floated through cruiser speeds into more evocative spaces and atmospheric layers of sonic bliss. On "Radiance," like his recent "Initiation," the opening tracks are extremely compelling, with bright, percussive sound textures and percolating rhythms that are equal parts intense and attractive. As the tracks progress (and there are only five of them, ranging from 5 to 18 minutes), Sanjiva's spatial charm is revealed with ambient washes of spiralling synth patterns and a colourful pallette of sound designs that shimmer and reflect sunlight through a misty haze like crystalline shards. The closing track on "Radiance," called "The Fountain of Nothingness" rises from deeper tones into a freefall feeling of sacred discovery, innocence and mystery, as the cosmic wheel turns slowly on its axis to reveal the source within. Journey with Sanjiva, and your spirit, mind, dancing feet and soul will all be nourished and cleansed. ****************************************************************************************** Radiance Review at Wind and Wire © 1998 I first became aware of Sanjiva´s music from Waveform´s interesting Slumberland compilation, so I was quite eager to listen to this. Because Radiance is actually his fifth album, it looks as if I have some catching up to do. Radiance consists of five interwoven titles. Although each movement is distinct, there is enough overlab during the transitions that there are no clear dividing lines separating each track. it begins in techno fashion with an energetic pulsing beat thumbing the rhythm while a sound like swarming insects buzzes about one´s ear. There are a few distinct elements (e.g., the "swarming," thumping beat, crystal tones) assembled into this opening, but I found it very interesting the way Sanjiva allows these elements to fade out and reappear at varying intervals. The result is something that has the characteristics of having repetition without boredom. After approximately fourteen minutes of this, the tone darkens a bit, leaving us with a slightly muted thirteen minutes of mesmerizing rhythms, pulses and tones. One insistent beeping melds into the third movement, a beautiful and brief piano number. Things settle quite a bit for a monentary adjustment before entering the final portion. This final movement titled "Fountain of Nothingness," came as an unexpected contrast to the first half of this album. All rhythm dissolves, leaving behind a droning organ sound that shrouds this nocturnal ambient title like a blanket of fog at midnight. I get the feeling of being tucked into bed and having the lights turned out after experiencing a rousing day of fun. Pleasant dreams! by David Hassel ****************************************************************************************** Radiance Review at URB ultra american -crafted culture journal vol. 8, no. 59, 1998 In the last few years, ambient music has had a bad time of it. Like psychedelic trance, it has often been dismissed as mushy indulgent hippy noodling; it´s been felt that unless you´re being "illbient", banging on pots and pans, you can´t really have anything to say. And let´s face it, he doesn´t help the case along with the dippy cover art or to be honest, the album title. In fact, bearing in mind the guy´s Canadian, he could have choosen a name for himself less likely to set bullshit detectors ringing. But all is forgiven when you slip under the surface and listen - this harks back to the great days of Apollo, FAX and SILENT - it is really that good. It´s not beatless, but when they´re there, the beats are soft warm heartbeats a la "Analogue Bubblebath". It´s a gorgeous, delicate, melodic, fragrant, gently pulsating womb of sound. It can be as soothing or as thought provoking as you want it to be, which is, to vaguely paraphrase Brian Eno, what ambient is all about. by John Speakman ****************************************************************************************** Radiance Review at Thousand Words, September/October 1998, Issue19 On Sanjiva´s fifth album, the Canadian-born producer gets away from the hard beats and lets the nuances take control over the five cuts that make up this full length. Electronic ambience floats through cuts with names like "Fountain of Nothingness," "No Zone" and "Left Behind." These tracks kind of melt in your mind, transporting through repetition and sweeping sound patterns. Unlike most other releases of this sort, this one actually keeps the interest throughout and begs to be played repeatedly. Something about the way these tracks are strung together, in almost thematic progressions, makes for the most interesting sonic wallpaper. Maybe being a trained piano, guitar and flute player and spending 10 years in India had something to do with it. Anyway, Chill out with this, you may not need any other aid(s). CG ****************************************************************************************** Sanjiva is a Canadian producer whose commitment to sensual electronic sounds is directly related to his belief in music as a key to healing, meditation, and introspection. Radiance is a 57-minute journey of spiritual, blissful ambience that uses pulsating trance rhythms ans serene ambient textures as its vehicle of transport. A mesmerizing, stimulating and enlightening piece of work. - M. Tye Comer: CMJ New Music Report Issue: 585 - Aug 31, 199

Additional Info Mandala art work by Socrates

Location Ste-Adele, quebec - Canada

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