(AUDIO INTERVIEW + MUSIC MIX)
Al Gromer Khan, despite his underground status, is well-known for those who love to immerse in Ambient and Indian Music. He is playing sitar every day now for more than 50 years, practicing the instrument as a ritual that offers access to the privacy of the soul. Born at the alpine foothills of Bavaria after WWII, he was a rebellious spirit rejecting any academic or diplomatic career expected from him by his parents. Instead, in the late 60s, he became a hippie caught in the web of contradictions between the idealism of Indian spirituality and the raw reality of everyday life in London. There he had the chance of listening and meeting Vilayat Khan, a trailblazing genius and one of India’s greatest sitarists. Following his intuition and Vilayat's blessing, he started studying sitar and recording many albums of what he called „Paisley Music”. Al Gromer Khan was part of several experimental projects, pioneering the proto-electronic music, among others together with Popol Vuh, Florian Fricke's legendary krautrock band. His fascinating life story can be read between the lines in books like `The White Mogul` and `Kurt and Bongo and the Hippies'.
He also wrote the `99 axioms`, a manifesto of new contemplative world music. The first one of them says: Only one in love can write a love song. Feminine, Love, and Beauty are essential aspects in his musical and visual work, no wonder for someone involved in Shaktism (the Goddess-centric tradition of Tantra), and Sufism.
I'm honored that Al Gromer Khan accepted my invitation for an interview and it's a great joy to have him on our show. PS: `Happy 75th birthday, Al!` (for April 8).
audio interview (34 min.) + music mix (61 min.)
LINKS:
AL GROMER KHAN Official Site: https://khanart.de
AL GROMER KHAN New Earth Records: https://newearthrecords.com/artists/music-by-al-gromer-khan/