Kirtaniyas are a global collective of energetic, multitalented artists who are very excited to be coming to Byron Spirit festival on their debut Australia tour. These twenty-somethings grew up in a Vedic culture of song, dance, philosophy and devotion between ashrams and temples both in India and the western world. Vijay Krsna, the bandleader, studied devotional Indian folk music known as “Kirtan” in the sacred village of Vrindavan, India. This rare traditional art form is an ancient call-and-response mantra chanting practice, that originated in the Indian subcontinent over 5000 years ago. ... 

They have since travelled the world to over 15 countries infusing new life to these ancient chants with youthful spirit and energy. Besides the largely traditional approach to their acoustic sets, Kirtaniyas now push the boundaries of genre to combine all of their passions into one new and unique sound. Melodious dance orientated "Worldbeat" music and subsonic bass meet the call and response singing of ancient Sanskrit mantras, accompanied by live acoustic instruments. 

This is where the boundaries between performers and audience become blurred, everybody is united in one voice and everybody becomes the band. Early 2012 saw the release of the long-anticipated first acoustic album called “Heart & Soul” with distribution through Silenzio (Europe) and White Swan Records (USA). 

Funded largely by the groups growing the fan base, the album debuted at #11 on the iTunes World music chart. The band members are multi-instrumentalists accomplished in traditional Indian style vocals, Harmonium, classical Violin, Tabla and Mrdanga drums, hand cymbals, bells, Gub gubi, music production, hip-hop and classical Bharatnatyam, Odissi dance forms. They have collaborated with artists such as Cheb I Sabbah, Kula Shaker, The Polish Ambassador, Jai Uttal, MC Yogi, DJ Drez amongst others.