Ragani

An award-winning producer, Ragani is the founder of Kirtan with Ragani, one of the largest independent and ongoing kirtan scenes in the US. For the past 25 years, she has been leading kirtan in the US and abroad. At the age of eight, American-born Ragani met the legendary yoga master, Sri Swami Rama, founder of the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, and former Shankaracharya of India. Under his tutelage, she was personally trained in the sciences of yoga, meditation and eastern music, including kirtan. Currently based in Milwaukee, and named in OnMilwaukee.com’s “100 Milwaukeeans You Need to Know”, Ragani has been featured on FOX and NBC affiliates and in numerous regional, national and international publications, and she will be featured in a forthcoming kirtan documentary movie, scheduled for release in 2009. In addition, Ragani is the featured model for the award-winning book, Yoga: Mastering the Basics, and its two accompanying videos. Ragani’s kirtan recordings feature lush vocals, rich world instrumentation, and the sacred mantras of India. Her songs “[bring] to mind a winning collaboration between Enya and the sadly departed George Harrison.” (Conscious Choice Magazine) Ragani's latest release, Ancient Spirit (Kirtan Café, Vol. II), landed itself as the “Top Pick” album with music distributors, was awarded “Runner Up” in the Best Production category of the International Music Aid awards, and was named “Best of the Year” (2006) by BackRoads Music.