Multi-GRAMMY award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Joe Walsh has collaborated with preeminent classical Sarod virtuoso and composer Amjad Ali Khan on three-song EP titled Prayers. Sonically the difference between rock and roll and classic Indian music could not be bigger - and it was exactly that which compelled them: what would happen if they came together and let their instruments do the talking? The result is music that is truly collaborative, and unlike any Joe has ever created, infused with a spiritual feel, fittingly titled Prayers.
The two first met while Joe was visiting India. After playing together at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai (at the suggestion of Amjad’s son) Joe invited them all, Amjad and his two sons, to come to Los Angeles and record with him to see what they could create together. This EP is the result of the second of those sessions, which took place in Joe’s home studio in Los Angeles during 2020. In addition to The Khans, Amjad and his incredibly talented sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, Joe asked some of his friends and members of the Los Angeles music community to participate including: Jim Keltner, Davey Johnstone, Michael Thompson, Nathan East, Stewart Copeland, Joe Vitale and Lee Sklar.
"The time I spend in India is always transformative,” Joe explained. “My first visit delivered “India” which was on Analog Man. Subsequent visits stirred within me a deeper curiosity for Indian instruments and their music. In spending time with the maestro, himself, Amjad, I was excited to see how my instrument and his could work together. We were both blown away. It was one of my life's most treasured experiences. It was as if our souls united in a symphony of shared love for music in its purest form. The music we created was stronger than our individual abilities. It was a spiritual experience to play with the Khans. Everyone there in those sessions was elevated as a result of this collaboration and that's why we play music. It's those moments we chase as musicians."
These three songs, “Healing Love”, “Goddess” and “Hope (We Shall Overcome)” are the discourse between their instruments, a kind of meditative exploration on the nature of sonoral divinity, drawing from the great unique treasures of their own artistic traditions, as well as finding common ground at both the cellular and cosmic levels of two musical traditions, which are often held to be radically different. Through this process of creating and recording, their aim was to preserve the essence of musical traditions that flow into each other without artistic compromise.
"By the time I got to work on these tracks in the studio we were in complete lockdown pandemic mode," continued Joe. "The more time I spent with this music the clearer it became that these tracks had healing properties and needed to be shared as a gift. So, in honor of all the frontline workers who continue to be of such incredible service and courage to us all during these horribly challenging times I’m donating my proceeds to IntraHealth International, whose vital work for healthcare workers around the world aligned perfectly. With our gratitude and with love to them all please enjoy Prayers”
“It has been such a pleasure and an honor to work on this album with my dear friend, the legendary Joe Walsh,” remarked Amjad Ali Khan. “Across cultures, as artists we can understand and appreciate each other and thereby trying to heal this divided world, and what better way is there to achieve this ideal than through the joy and spiritual nourishment that music brings”.
“We are so thrilled and grateful to Joe and Amjad for their generosity,” says Polly Dunford, president and CEO of IntraHealth International. “Their gift is going to make health workers around the world safer as we battle this pandemic today and build a healthier future for tomorrow.”
PRAYERS, CREDITS AND THANKS:
Recorded in Los Angeles
Engineered by Bruce Sugar
Electric guitar: Joe Walsh
Sarod: Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash
Vocal: Amjad Ali Khan
Tabla: Satnam Ramgotra
Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan and Ayaan express their gratitude to Joe and Marjorie Walsh for all their love and support for the project
Joe would like to thank the following musicians who participated in the sessions from which these three tracks were created:
• Nathan East: Bass
• Lee Sklar: Bass
• Abe Loboriel: Bass
• Jim Keltner: Percussion
• Stewart Copeland: Percussion
• Ed Roth: Keyboards
• Michael Thompson: Keyboards
• Joe Vitale: Keyboards
• Davey Johnstone: Guitar
