Lately I’ve been working quite a bit in the studio playing the role of engineer and recording vocals for other musicians as well as some children that I teach in a class.  I was recording some inspirational quotations that the children had memorized as well as a few songs I had taught them to give them a CD of their own recordings as a graduation gift.  I’m hardly qualified to call myself an engineer but since I can manage the basics, it works for this blog! :D  I definitely prefer being on the other side singing the vocals and feeling the inspiration flow through me but I have often needed to record myself and others so it has become extremely useful.  I owe many thanks to Jarome who patiently taught me the ropes in that department.

Recently, I had the opportunity to record Siria Rutstein for a piece that we’re singing together with Cheng Lin.  Siria is a talented vocalist who has been studying music since the age of 5.  She has a heavenly voice that moves me everytime I hear her sing so I wanted to have the chance to sing a song together.  The piece is called ‘God is sufficient’ and is sung in 3 different languages.  Lin starts by singing in Chinese, then Siria in English and I sing the third part in Arabic.  It is a beautiful piece (not sure who composed it) and I was excited about it being sung in different languages and singers with the varied voices.  This song will be one of the tracks on a Chinese spiritual CD that we are in the process of completing.  We hope to finish it by September.  Here are a couple of photos of Siria in the studio and in the garden.

I’m thrilled to be writing my 100th blog! It has been an enlightening experience to have the opportunity to share my thoughts and to exchange ideas with friends.  I have enjoyed sharing thoughts on the theme of detachment, challenges in life, the joys of being a musician and many more topics.  One of my highlights in this whole process has been getting to know those of you who have participated in the dialogue on a frequent basis.  Strangers have become friends and deep bonds have been established.  It has been a pleasure to connect with friends and to learn from many inspired souls around the world.   I look forward to many more conversations about the lessons in life, the art of music and other inspiring topics.

To celebrate these wonderful connections and all the joy you have brought me, I want to share a gift of music with you.  One of the projects I am currently working on is a spiritual CD in Chinese (the goal for the release date is September this year).  We have translated some of the Fire and Gold pieces into Chinese and added some new quotations.  The song is a new one called ‘Rose of Love’ that is sung in English and Chinese.  I recorded it with a talented Chinese singer, Lily.  She has a truly heavenly voice.  I so enjoy the interplay of different languages sung together and set out to explore that with this piece.

You can listen to the piece here:

Rose Of Love featuring Lily

Please feel free to download it and share it with your friends using the link below:
http://www.elikamahony.com/music/gifts

Some of the other songs on the CD will feature Cheng Lin singing with Phil Morrison on the bass and Keith Williams on the piano!
Enjoy!

I watch the news and the clips in horror of what’s going on in Iran right now after the elections.  I am also filled with sorrow at the way the Iranian Baha’is, the largest religious minority group, are being treated.  It is sad to see a nation so rich in culture and history resort to the state that it is in today.

Even though my heritage is Persian, I only lived there for a couple of years in my young childhood so I don’t remember very much at all. My family left Iran when I was 5 as a result of the persecution of the Baha’is there. My father found a job in Kenya so we were lucky to leave before the revolution began. Obviously it was difficult for my family to uproot themselves from their country of origin but because my father was denied a job in Tehran solely for belonging to the Baha’i community, he knew it was time to leave.

I often wonder what my life would have been like if we had stayed in Iran. I imagine myself wearing a chador over my head and fully cloaked in dark material covering my whole body everyday because of the regulations that exist.  I would be a different person and no doubt I would never have been able to develop my music.  Since the revolution in 1979, dancing and some types of music are considered illegal by the government.  Female singers are not allowed to have any concerts or other similar activities in Iran.  I shudder to think that I would not have been allowed to sing at all!  Not a day goes by that I don’t sing - it’s a part of who I am and brings so much joy to my life.

Because I grew up outside of Iran, I felt quite distant and disconnected to the country of my parent’s birth.  The only other Persians I knew besides my family were my cousins and a few other Baha’i families that lived in Kenya so culturally I never felt I was Iranian.  Interestingly, I never felt Kenyan or American either (I was born in the US), but have come to view wherever I live as my home.  I have been molded to be a world citizen out of necessity but also out of an understanding that once I identify myself from one part of the world, I’m neglecting all the other parts of who I am and where I come from.  Even though I have no association with Iran right now, except for a few relatives and my concern for the Baha’i community there (especially those who have been imprisoned there recently), I do care about its future and its people.  I care about the suffering being inflicted on the innocent, whoever and wherever they are.  So I pray that our brothers and sisters in Iran are no longer treated with injustice, but with the respect and dignity that they deserve.

Quote of the Day:  “The well-being of the world, its peace and tranquillity, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.” - Baha’u'llah

I am excited to share with you a new video that was made by my label, prosoul, about our most recent release, Birds of Love.  We wanted to make a video to show more details of the Birds of Love gift set which includes a CD and book.  We realized that just describing it and showing pictures didn’t do it justice and felt that a video would best capture the essence of the project (short of actually seeing it in person).   The Birds of Love gift set is intended as a meaningful gift for any occasion.  It has been used as a gift for weddings, anniversaries, visiting a friend’s home, Valentine’s day gift, or simply to a loved one.  I would like to thank Felisha Matthew for her assistance in the making of the video.

Enjoy the video and please share this link with others.

Birds of Love Box Gift Set demo video link

I had a wonderfully smooth interview yesterday with a lifestyle magazine in China.

I enjoyed the questions as it gave me a chance to reflect on my music and how this whole journey began.  One of the questions was what inspired and influenced me to go into the field of music.  It took me back to my childhood and I remembered how my father would blast our music system with his favorite classical and jazz pieces every Sunday morning like a wake-up call and how my mother often played classical pieces on the piano.  She would practise her Rachmaninoff and Chopin piano pieces endlessly.  It brought me much joy as well as moments of sorrow as some of the classical pieces she practised made me cry!  I could see what a huge influence music had on my family and me!  Music also played a huge part of life in the Kenyan culture.  The rhythmic drums and simple melodies have definitely been inspirational.  I hope to incorporate more of that into my music.

We also talked about what inspires me as a musician and how living in China has made it possible to accomplish all the different projects that I am involved in.  I shared how our latest project, ‘Birds of Love‘ was a culmination of different elements - a CD and book of quotations and how exciting it was for me to look for the silk fabric to adorn the book.  Only in China are all these elements possible to integrate with such quality and reasonable funding.

They also wanted to know how the Baha’i Faith and my family have influenced my music so I was happy to share the CD, ‘Fire and Gold‘ on the topic of tests and difficulties and explained how music is a ladder by which to help transform and inspire souls to greater heights and that is the main purpose for me to share music.  I also introduced them to our ‘Melodies of the Nightingale for the family‘ CD which was released in 2001.  I composed most of those pieces when I was pregnant with my son!

I was also able to share some of my hobbies such as reading about human psychology, walking in nature with lots of greenery and beauty, sports (yes I used to be an avid field hockey and tennis player) and photography.  So much to appreciate and learn.

I look forward to sharing the whole interview with you when it is published in August.

Amelia, my daughter, took the above photo of me!

Below is a photo with Yang Yang, the interviewer.

Last night I was asked to sing ‘Love is Patient’ at a variety show at my children’s school with my son’s teacher, her children and my daughter. It was the first time I’ve sung ‘Love is Patient’ live and I thoroughly enjoyed singing it in a group.  I think the rest of the singers knew it better than I as they listen to it almost everyday.

For a free download of the song, please click here and to read more about the background of the piece and how it was composed, please read my blog here.

Of course my highlights of the evening, besides singing with my daughter (standing next to me in the photo), was listening to her play one of her own compositions on the piano and watching my son play a jazz piece on the piano!  Pure joy!

On Sunday, our family was invited to an engagement party at one of my favorite places in Beijing - The Great Wall of China!  Whenever I have the chance to go, I am always in awe of its grandeur, vastness and immensity of space.  We gathered in a courtyard area just below the Wall as all the guests arrived and then hiked our way up the Wall for about 20 minutes.  Once we reached one of the higher towers, we stopped and celebrated our friend’s engagement.  What a gorgeous site it was!  One of my highlights was singing on the Great Wall with friends.  It felt so majestic and joyous to be able to do so on that amazing spot.  Here are some highlights of the day.

Created with flickr slideshow.

I wanted to share some photos from my recent journey to the Baha’i World Centre.  The buildings and nature were gorgeous so I wanted to give you a glimpse of the beauty there.  I’ve included some photos of my family too.  Enjoy!

Today marks the one year anniversary of the imprisonment of the 7 Baha’i leaders in Iran.  Here is a new video addressing the grave issue.  Please also download and share our song ‘Persecution’ that was composed in honor of all the Baha’is in Iran.  Click here for the gifts page to download Persecution.

How does one describe a journey that one takes that is so sacred in nature and transformative in spirit?  When I reflect on the past several days I spent on a short Baha’i Pilgrimage, I am filled with feelings of awe, tranquillity, bliss, immense joy, rejuvation, purpose and renewed vision.  I think if I were to sum up the trip to the Baha’i World Centre in one word, I would have to use the word love.  There were times I felt so much love that I could hardly contain it.  My senses were so acute on all levels taking in the beauty of the gardens, the joy of being around such wonderful people (including my lovely family) and being able to experience prayer and meditation like never before.  I had the bounty of spending a lot of time praying, thinking and meditating in the Shrine of Baha’u'llah (where the Prophet founder of the Baha’i Faith is laid to rest).  It felt as though I had returned home - a spiritual reunion is the term that comes to mind.   I felt a lot of peace, joy and exhileration and by the end of each day was quite exhausted with all the emotion I had experienced during the day.

Praying and meditating in those sacred places felt so effortless and natural.  My one concern upon leaving was how would I continue to feel such joy and bliss and closeness with my Creator.  After some time meditating upon this, I decided to come up with a schedule for myself for when i return home in order to remember my priorities.  Three qualities come to mind when I reflect on how to reorient my life and being vigilant with my new schedule - being systematic, sustaining my new routine and maintaining self-discipline.  I return to my life with full vigor, spiritual vitality and purpose!