TIBET PRESS WATCH
Culture Brothers
“Culture Brothers” is Karma Lama, a musician living in Anchorage, Alaska. Karma was born in the Tibetan refugee camp in Shimla, India, after his Tibetan parents had to flee the brutal Chinese occupation.
As an infant, he was invited to enter the Swayambhunath monastery (the famous monkey temple) in Kathmandu, Nepal. His family moved from India to Kathmandu, to the Monkey Temple hill, and when he was 7 he joined the monastery. There he focused on studying music and he learned to play the drum and the ragdun (a 15-foot long horn) for the religious ceremonies celebrated each day (generally for 3 hours a day) every day of the year.
As a young man, he left the monastery. Later he moved to the mountains of Alaska, where he and his wife organized a concert and invited Ngawang Sangdrol, one of the “singing nuns” of Tibet. “I was shocked and touched; I couldn’t believe that people can do things like this. I spent some time with her, asked more questions, traveled with her as she told her story. I want the world to know what happened to her.” So Karma Lama made a Culture Brothers album with Ngawang Sangdrol, and is donating one dollar to ICT for every album sold.
ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE
In Compagnia Degli Alci — by Paola Pivi
Sono italiana, ma vivo in Alaska da due anni e mezzo. La prima volta ci sono venuta per curiosare la gara Iditarod e per conoscere Roberto Ghidoni, che in Alaska è famoso come “l'alce italiano”. Le due cose in realtà sono collegatissime tra loro. Iditarod è la gara epica dei cani da slitta che trainano il loro “musher", cioè il guidatore, per più di 1.600 km in un territorio completamente selvaggio, senza nessunissima strada.
Per seguire la gara ho affittato un microaeroplanino fatto di tela, e ho contattato un pilota in grado di farmi atterrare ovunque ci fosse neve, che in Alaska significa dappertutto. Circa una settimana prima della gara Iditarod vera e propria viene battuto il percorso per i cani, cioè viene battuta la neve con le motoslitte per evitare che i cani si perdano o affondino nella neve fresca. In quei giorni qualche decina di sportivi proveniente da tutto il mondo si riunisce per gareggiare sullo stesso percorso a piedi, in bici o sugli sci. Roberto è il campione incontrastato dei ragazzi che fanno il percorso a piedi, anche se avrebbe gli anni per essere il loro padre! Io l’ho incontrato poco prima della fine del suo percorso, circa 23 giorni a camminare per la maggior parte delle ore del giorno e della notte, attraversando una terra popolata da alci e lupi, e il suo corpo si era trasformato in un tronco, mi sembrava di parlare con una figura fiabesca: un albero trasformatosi in umano.
Però la cosa migliore dell’Alaska forse sono gli eschimesi. La parola “eskimo” è troppo complicata per me, non ne capisco bene la storia. In realtà i loro veri nomi sono altri: yupik, aleut, inupiaq, tlingit e athabascan. Civiltà antiche di millenni, entrate in contatto con il mondo occidentale molto di recente. click for more…
MUSIC TIBET
Karma from dung-chen to didgeridoo — by Susan Shannon
ALASKA, US, 18 August 2007 — Listening to the Culture Brother's first CD Learn how to respect one is transported to a large field bordered with whispering pines, flanked by high white mountain peaks, with the lap-lap of the Alaskan waters keeping time. And those are just the subtle mind/sounds in this rich world music soundscape, this musical montage of many cultures finding the ONE through joyful music. After a few short minutes of listening to the band, co-founder Karma speak passionately about his love of Alaska's rich natural world, one can feel his joy in music.
From Roots to Roots
Delving into Karma's joyful musical presence inevitably leads one down a windy road beginning with his birth several decades ago on the India/Nepal border to Tibetan parents. At the age of seven he joined the Swayambhunath monastery, the famous Monkey Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal. Along with other monastic duties he played drum and dung-chen during the many pujas and ceremonies held at the monastery. Up to this point, Karma's experience of music and sound was anchored to the monastic life, deeply marbled with the themes of devotion, unity and service.
After eight years he left the monastery and moved in with his family in Kathmandu.
During this time he was befriended by a local Newari musician who introduced Karma to the music of other cultures. As is often the case, this seemingly casual friendship was actually a turning point in Karma's life. Living in Kathmandu presented more exposure to a wide range of music. click for more…
PHAYUL.COM
Free Tibet Concert in Alaska: Peace, Beauty and Indigenous Cultures
Phayul Sunday, January 04, 2009, 14:36 — The First Free Tibet Concert in Alaska will take place on January 10th, 2009, at the Atwood Concert Hall in Anchorage, Alaska. Organizers Karma Lama and Paola Pivi say the goal of this concert is to raise awareness of the plight of Tibetans in Tibet, but also point out that many indigenous cultures are in need of world support in order to preserve the preciousness of their own peoples, customs, and land. The promoters acknowledge the political implications of raising awareness in these areas, but emphasize that this concert is more about peace and beauty.
The concert will feature internationally known Tibetans such as Ngawang Sangdrol, former political prisoner and one of the 14 Drapchi Singing Nuns, as well as world class Tibetan performer Yungchen Lhamo, appearing for her first time in Alaska. Sharing the bill will be Karma Lama’s own band Culture Brothers, with their unique blend of Tibetan/Yu’pik world music. Karma will play a multitude of traditional Tibetan instruments as well as guitar, flute, congas, and mystical magical vocals. The eclectic Culture Brothers will made even more unique by the inclusion various talented indigenous artists from Alaska as well as 2 young Ethiopian girls.
The local but internationally known Inuit/Yu’pik “tribal funk” band Pamyua are also on the bill. Pamyua’s third album, “Caught in the Act” won Record of the Year at the 2003 Native American Music Awards. The same year, the band was invited to perform at the Grammys as representatives of Native American music. click for more…
