New Age Kirtan

New Age Kirtan is the Western form of the Hindu devotional chanting practice kirtan, developed in the United States from the 1970s as singers fused Sanskrit mantras and call-and-response chanting with folk, rock and new age instrumentation. A lead singer, traditionally at the harmonium, chants the names of Hindu deities and the group answers, building slowly from quiet meditation to ecstatic intensity over tabla, guitar, bass and keyboards. Carried by the yoga movement into studios and festivals worldwide, it became the most visible meeting point between Indian devotional music and Western popular forms.