SPOTLIGHT

EAST WIND, WEST WIND, AND A PRAYER FOR JUSTICE

Joe Walsh and Amjad Ali Khan.

A three-song EP, Prayers is a collaboration of multi-Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Joe Walsh and preeminent classical sarod virtuoso and composer Amjad Ali Khan.

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 infused with a spiritual feel, fittingly titled Prayers.

The two first met while Walsh was visiting India. After playing together at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai (at the suggestion of Amjad’s son) he 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 Walsh’s home studio in Los Angeles during 2020. In addition to Amjad Ali Khan and his incredibly talented sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, he asked some of his friends and members of the Los Angeles music community including Jim Keltner, Davey Johnstone, Michael Thompson, Nathan East, Stewart Copeland, Joe Vitale and Lee Sklar, to participate.

“The time I spend in India is always transformative,” says Walsh.

“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, Amjad himself, 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.”

Amjad Ali Khan with his sons Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash.

The 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 pandemic lockdown  mode,” Walsh continues.

“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 honour of all the front-line 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 music.

“With our gratitude and with love to them all, please enjoy Prayers.”

“It has been such a pleasure and an honour to work on this album with my dear friend, the legendary Joe Walsh,” said Amjad Ali Khan.

“Across cultures, as artistes we can understand and appreciate each other and thereby try to heal this divided world. 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,” said 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.” 

IntraHealth International is a global health nonprofit that has worked in over 100 countries since 1979.

Their mission is to improve the performance of health workers and strengthen the systems in which they work, and their vision is that everyone everywhere has the health care they need to thrive.

Because next-generation challenges in global health call for new and extraordinary partnerships, IntraHealth joins forces with governments, businesses, technologists, artists, activists, and more to cultivate local solutions with lasting results.

IntraHealth’s programs generate long-term social and economic impact to keep communities around the world healthy, strong, and prosperous. 

More info at www.joewalsh.com, www.sarod.com, www.amaanalibangash.com and www.ayaanalibangash.com.

Prayers is a three-song EP.