THE MUSIC
In the film Awaken, music plays as important of a role as the screenplay and actors do. Music has the power to help us find a way into our higher selves. Music is as much a character in the story as Jessica, William, and Elias. Raw earthy drumbeats encourage the characters to keep fighting, while uplifting, deeply transformative songs, chanting and instrumentals encourage the characters (and audience) to awaken.
And thus, we have assembled a world-class team of uniquely talented and gifted musicians to bring this vision into reality.
RAM DASS - Music Producer / Instrumentalist
Ram Dass is a music producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist based near Berkeley, California. He was raised in a musical family, both parents professional musicians, and was instilled with a profoundly diverse musical background, ranging from Beethoven to The Beatles and Aaron Copland to Ali Akbar Khan.
He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the GRAMMY Awards, and at concert halls in over thirty countries around the world. Credits include GRAMMY Nominee Snatam Kaur, Guster, Tina Malia, Jai-Jagdeesh, and Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary).
Featured Musicians
(in alphabetical order)
DAVID DANIEL BROWN - Flutes & Drums
David is a multi-instrumentalist, world musician, recording artist, sound healer, and ceremonialist. As an Earth Guardian, his love of both ancient and contemporary paths towards holistic health of mind-body-spirit are numerous. In addition to music, his highest excitement is to serve as a bridge for others to connect with the Sacred through authentic rites of passage both traditional and modern.
David is also a founding member and has been an event producer with the I AM LIFE Project for 7 years. They've produced transformational retreats and events that build community in a container that brings together elements of celebration, ritual, prayer, devotion, live music, cacao ceremony, ecstatic dance, elders & wisdom keepers, and key note speakers.
BOGDAN DJUKIC - Violin & Percussion
A winner of three national violin championships in his native Serbia, Bogdan came to Canada in 1999 and has since had extensive performance experience in klezmer, classical, Mariachi, Latin, West African, and Serbian folk music.
Bogdan was a member of the touring violin stage show Bowfire, the jazz/Balkan fusion group Blok, the Mirobolus String Trio, and the Canadian band Beyond the Pale. In Mexico, he has performed with the trios Mardeleva and Bolé.
He is a virtuoso of the heart, with each note transporting the listener deeper into the soul.
SHIREEN JARRAHIAN - Flutes & Drums
Shireen Jarrahian is an entrepreneur, musician, Reiki Master & Sound Healing practitioner, and event producer based in Los Angeles, California.
Through her work with the I AM LIFE Project, which focuses on building and connecting community through ceremony, music, and conscious events in the Los Angeles area and beyond, Shireen has a passion for creating environments that are safe spaces and infuse the sacred with deep fun.
GAIEA SANSKRIT - Sanskrit Chanting
Gaiea attended St James School in London where she learned Sanskrit from the age of 4 and went on to read Sanskrit at University of Oxford. She has taught Sanskrit for Yoga London, The Ayurveda Institute, Jivamukti Yoga, and East London School Power of the Sounds of Sanskrit. She has combined a love of Sanskrit with an exploration of the voice, knowing that through connecting with your voice and expression, there is a key to connect more deeply with yourself.
She is currently working on new recordings, making new films, and delving into the power of sound and music to transform society.
"This is what happens when I sing, there is no difference between me, what is being sung, and the singing itself, it all becomes one and the same. This is why there is only one thing I have to do in this life, and that is sing in Sanskrit. The rest is not in my power or control or domain. The rest is in God's Divine's Mother's hands. The songs will carry you away, transport you, and give you this connection to some blissful feeling within.”
ADRIENNE SHAMSZAD - Vocalist & Composer
An Oakland, California native of Iranian heritage, Adrienne Shamszad sings revolutionary anthems, prayerful power ballads, blues, lullabies, and love songs in English and in Farsi. She is a dynamic entertainer, guitarist, and songwriter with a passion for justice and the spiritual quest.
Since beginning formal training in Traditional Iranian vocal arts and music in 2016, Adrienne's music has expanded to a genre of its own as she brings the messages of her ancestors into the present moment.
ABIGAIL WAINWRIGHT - Light Language Chanting
Abigail is a consciousness mentor, activator, spiritual channel, light language artist, divine alchemist, and healer.
As an awakened divine feminine, she assists with spiritual evolution and the transformational journey, exploring what that truly means for the soul mission on Earth, as we awaken. She is also the mother of a beautiful girl who is a crystal Rainbow star child and diagnosed with level three autism spectrum disorder. She is based in Melbourne, Australia.