Al Gromer Khan
Encyclopedia
Al Gromer Khan is a German-born sitar
player and composer
whose music spans the multiple genres of ambient
, New Age
, world
and electronica
.
/Allgäu) in alpine foothills of Bavaria
between Lake Constance
and Munich. He spent his early years in England, Morocco and India
, where his father worked in the Foreign Office. Gromer Khan claims that he was drawn to the "mysteries of sound" from the first, be it the sound of the bells worn by the Bavarian cows grazing in the alpine meadows near his birthplace, Indian stringed instruments, the drums
of North Africa
or the "singing" telephone wires on the wind in the freezing Bavarian winters. Gromer Khan claims to have rejected the academic or diplomatic careers his parents expected him to take up.
The 1960s found a twenty-something Al Gromer in London
where he took part in a number of creative experiments which were to have a lasting influence on him. According to Gromer Khan, the Prince Tiane na Champassak of Laos
introduced him to tantric
art and pop star Marc Bolan
invited him to join in the all-night jam sessions
he hosted. He explored psycho-acoustic phenomena with film director Mike Figgis
, and saxophonist Ronnie Scott
of Ronnie Scott's Jazzclub, who introduced Al to Ben Webster
, Max Roach
and Miles Davis
, while Cat Stevens
(now known as Yusuf Islam), gave him a taste for English poetry
.
. Gromer Khan professes to have been so moved by the performance that he instantly decided to devote his life to the study of the sitar. He remained in India, where he was to find a powerful teacher in Vilayat Khan's brother, Ustad Imrat Khan
. Gromer Khan remained in India for the next three years, speed-learning his instrument at the feet of his guru
. He returned to Bavaria
in 1971, already an accomplished sitarist.
Gromer Khan spent the next 10 years studying with Imrat Khan in Europe and India. In 1975, his teacher performed the Ghanda Ceremony, thus initiating Al Gromer into the Khan-I-Gharana lineage of sitarists. He was the first outsider to be accepted into this particular Gharana
, which like most Hindustani musical traditions, passes knowledge down the generations from father to son. After his initiation, Al Gromer added "Khan" to his name.
genre called Space music
, together with Popol Vuh
, Deuter
and Amon Düül
.
Since 1974, Khan has released nearly 40 albums. He currently resides in Munich
, Germany.
In 2009 the novel Jimi of Silence was released.
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
player and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
whose music spans the multiple genres of ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
, New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
, world
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
.
Early influences
Né Alois Gromer, Al Gromer Khan was born on April 8, 1946 at farm Hohentann (municipality AltusriedAltusried
Altusried is a municipality in the district of Oberallgäu in Bavaria in Germany....
/Allgäu) in alpine foothills of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
between Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
and Munich. He spent his early years in England, Morocco and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where his father worked in the Foreign Office. Gromer Khan claims that he was drawn to the "mysteries of sound" from the first, be it the sound of the bells worn by the Bavarian cows grazing in the alpine meadows near his birthplace, Indian stringed instruments, the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
of North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
or the "singing" telephone wires on the wind in the freezing Bavarian winters. Gromer Khan claims to have rejected the academic or diplomatic careers his parents expected him to take up.
The 1960s found a twenty-something Al Gromer in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he took part in a number of creative experiments which were to have a lasting influence on him. According to Gromer Khan, the Prince Tiane na Champassak of Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
introduced him to tantric
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
art and pop star Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
invited him to join in the all-night jam sessions
Jam Sessions
Jam Sessions is a guitar simulation software title and music game for the Nintendo DS based on the Japan-only title Sing & Play DS Guitar M-06 originally developed by Plato. It was brought to North America and Europe, courtesy of Ubisoft...
he hosted. He explored psycho-acoustic phenomena with film director Mike Figgis
Mike Figgis
Michael "Mike" Figgis is an English film director, writer, and composer.-Personal life:Figgis was born in Carlisle, England and grew up in Africa. Figgis for several years had a relationship with the actress Saffron Burrows and cast her in several films...
, and saxophonist Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
of Ronnie Scott's Jazzclub, who introduced Al to Ben Webster
Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
, Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
and Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, while Cat Stevens
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
(now known as Yusuf Islam), gave him a taste for English poetry
English poetry
The history of English poetry stretches from the middle of the 7th century to the present day. Over this period, English poets have written some of the most enduring poems in Western culture, and the language and its poetry have spread around the globe. Consequently, the term English poetry is...
.
Development as a sitarist
There is no doubt that Gromer Khan's creative encounters during the 1960s deeply informed his musical taste and style; however, Gromer’s ultimate musical awakening came during a trip to India in 1968, at a recital by sitarist Ustad Vilayat KhanVilayat Khan
Ustad Vilayat Khan was one of India's well known sitar maestros, born in Gauripur in Mymensingh, Bengal...
. Gromer Khan professes to have been so moved by the performance that he instantly decided to devote his life to the study of the sitar. He remained in India, where he was to find a powerful teacher in Vilayat Khan's brother, Ustad Imrat Khan
Imrat Khan
Imrat Khan is a leading sitar and surbahar player. He is the younger brother of sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan.-Training and early career:...
. Gromer Khan remained in India for the next three years, speed-learning his instrument at the feet of his guru
Guru
A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
. He returned to Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in 1971, already an accomplished sitarist.
Gromer Khan spent the next 10 years studying with Imrat Khan in Europe and India. In 1975, his teacher performed the Ghanda Ceremony, thus initiating Al Gromer into the Khan-I-Gharana lineage of sitarists. He was the first outsider to be accepted into this particular Gharana
Gharana
In Hindustani music, a gharānā is a system of social organization linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and by adherence to a particular musical style. A gharana also indicates a comprehensive musicological ideology. This ideology sometimes changes substantially from one...
, which like most Hindustani musical traditions, passes knowledge down the generations from father to son. After his initiation, Al Gromer added "Khan" to his name.
Creative works
Concurrently, Khan engaged in a number of experimental projects, pioneering the proto-electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
genre called Space music
Space music
Space music, also called spacemusic, is an umbrella term, synonymous with a segment of New Age Music and Ambient Music, used to describe music that evokes a feeling of contemplative spaciousness. Space music can be found within a wide range of genres. It is particularly associated with ambient, New...
, together with Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh is a corpus of mytho-historical narratives of the Post Classic Quiché kingdom in Guatemala's western highlands. The title translates as "Book of the Community," "Book of Counsel," or more literally as "Book of the People."...
, Deuter
Deuter
Deuter is a German New Age instrumentalist and recording artist known for his meditative style that blends Eastern and Western musical styles.- Biography :...
and Amon Düül
Amon Düül
-External links:* - Extensive bio @ Perfect Sound Forever* mainly focussed on their collaboration with Robert Calvert of Hawkwind...
.
Since 1974, Khan has released nearly 40 albums. He currently resides in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany.
In 2009 the novel Jimi of Silence was released.
Discography
| Title | Release | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| Mahogany Nights | 1990 | Hearts of Space Records Hearts of Space Records Hearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space... |
| Black Marble & Sweet Fire with Kai Taschner | 1996 | Hearts of Space Records Hearts of Space Records Hearts of Space Records is an independent record label owned by Valley Entertainment.From the label’s website, “Launched in 1984, this record label was created as an extension of the weekly syndicated radio show Hearts of Space... |
External links
- Artist's website: Includes music, paintings and essays by Al Gromer Khan http://www.algromerkhan.com/
- Current Record Label: With audio samples of his new CDs like Radio Yoga, Another Kind of Silence and Indian Music II http://www.rasateatime.com
- Record Label: Audio Links to Space Hotel, Monsoon Point, Kamasutra Experience, Tantra Drums http://www.newearthrecords.com
- Nonverbal documentary film: "Highway World - living, changing, growing" http://www.martinhansschmitt.com/highwayworld.html