Wisst ihr, wann Blogarbeit erst so richtig Spaß macht? Wenn sich Menschen von sich aus melden und sagen, dass sie jederzeit für Playlisten, Interviews und ähnliches zur Verfügung stehen und sowas pusht wirklich ungemein- denn ganz ehrlich: das kommt fast nie vor. Viel zu oft denke ich, dass das geschriebene/getippte Wort mehr und mehr an Wert verliert und sich vieles nur noch in Videos, Streams, Stories und Podcasts abspielt. Dagegen bin ich tatsächlich noch ziemlich ‚oldschool‘ unterwegs, stimmt’s? Aber um mal den zweiten Satz aufzugreifen: es hat mich wirklich sehr gefreut, dass sich Robert Ehrenbrand meldete und ziemlich schnell eine Playliste zur Hand hatte, die wir euch natürlich nicht vorenthalten möchten!

Robert macht auf mich immer den Eindruck, als würde er ständig unter Strom stehen, aber eher im positivsten aller Sinne: Früh raus/einer gewissen Routine folgen, Familienleben, Unterricht geben, am Buch schreiben, Yoga, ab und an den Bass bei Boysetsfire schwingen, startete mit seiner Frau Mitali Akal Nampreet ein neues musikalisches Projekt namens The Sat Nam Sessions und kurz gesagt: stets in Bewegung, denn wie heißt es so schön? Wer rastet, der rostet! Wahrscheinlich habe ich bei der Aufzählung noch gefühlt 100 andere Sachen vergessen, aber lasst euch gesagt sein: das wird definitiv nicht der letzte Artikel über und mit Robert sein, deswegen wird an anderer Stelle mehr ausgeholt, versprochen! Genug gesabbelt, gehen wir direkt zu seinen auserwählten Songs! Vielen Dank an Robert für’s Mitmachen!

Thank you very much for your request to share my yogic day in form of a playlist. Why yogic you ask? Well, besides playing bass in the Post-Hardcore-Band Boysetsfire, I play in the Mantra Music Project The Sat Nam Sessions with my amazing wife Mitali Akal Nampreet. On top of that I spend all the time that is not spent playing/making music as a Yoga & Movement teacher with my own system BecomingMe. So Yoga, Movement, Mantras & Music basically rule my life (in an awesome way I might add) and so these upcoming songs represent not only my love for all the things, but also how my day unfolds. Here we go!

White Sun – Mul Mantra

My day starts VERY early before dawn which in yogic philosophy is considered the perfect time for your daily practice & meditations (called Sadhana). I love Mantra Meditation and White Sun do this type of music as good as anyone. Seriously, they are THAT good! The Mul Mantra is a mantra I have a very deep relationship with and it is part of every morning for me. When the world still sleeps I hop on my mat and enjoy some personal practice powered by songs like this one. It is important that you start your day in the right way and this mantra always does the trick!

Shelter – Message of the Bhagavat

After my morning practice consisting of movement, meditation & mantras I always jump in a cold shower. It’s a perfect way to get your blood flowing and feel renewed at the start of each day. To make the leap into the icecold water (I also do this during winter time) a bit more acceptable I crank up Shelter and enjoy their amazing blend of Yoga philosophy & crossover music.

The Sat Nam Sessions – Guru Ram Das

After the cold shower I enjoy a cup of coffee with my wife, who is an amazing Kundalini Yoga teacher and sings for our Mantra Music Project The Sat Nam Sessions. We recorded our first EP so people can get into meditation a bit easier: you just stream/play the EP and sing along!

Moby – La12

After our morning coffee I sit down to continue writing a book about the Yoga System I teach: BECOMINGME. While writing I love to retreat from the world and just focus on bringing my thoughts to paper aka laptop. And Ambient Music is perfect as a background for that. I love Moby and his quiet tunes so much. They are part of every writing session and since there is no beats or vocals they don’t distract you from your task, they just make sure the energy is coming correct.

Jesus Loves You – Bow Down Mister

After writing I usually have to teach a class. At the moment due to the current situation we film the classes live so our students can take part online. To get into teacher mode I usually choose Culture Club or this great song of Boy George’s other Band Jesus Loves You. The best thing about it is: it also includes a great mantra but it is also silly so you cannot take yourself too seriously which is super important when teaching to an empty room in front of a camera.

George Harrison – Any Road

On my way back from teaching I like to turn up some George Harrison loud in my car and just unwind while driving and having a smoothie. Teaching is a lot of fun but it also uses up a lot of energy if done right and so it is important to have the right music to re-set your day and to help you relax & rejuvenate. The Fab 4 or George Harrison always do this better than any other music could! Plus he is single-handedly responsible for introducing Indian Music and Mantras to the West. So much respect to him & The Beatles always!

Ravi Shankar – Asato Maa

After getting back home from teaching, I like to read and while reading I love having the great master Ravi Shankar in the background. Chants of India is my favorite album of his, put together by George Harrison, which makes it double-awesome! My late & great father-in-law came from Bengal (India) like Ravi Shankar and they knew each other actually. He sadly passed away last year, so listening to Indian music always reminds me of him. I miss him so much!

Bob Marley – One Love

My household is famous for our spontaneous dance parties in our living room. These dance-offs can kick-off at any point and my 9-year-old-daughter always wins. She loves dancing to Bob Marley! So when you hear a tune of his in our house you know it’s on!

Liam Gallagher – Once

I love Oasis, I love Liam’s solo stuff, I love acoustic guitars, so I get really fucking excited when he just recently released an all-acoustic EP. This would be a perfect song when I walk my dog or go for a run in the afternoon. Movement is so important in my life. If I don’t move enough I don’t feel like myself, so any song that gets me moving and outside is much appreciated!

Nirinjan Kaur – Kirtan Kriya

A perfect meditation track before going to bed. I just sit in front of our Altar with inspirational pictures of our teachers, flowers & incense and just process my day that’s behind me. I usually do the short version for 11 minutes, but sometimes on special days also the longer one. You just sit down and sing, whisper & quietly chant the words SA TA NA MA. I promise you this will make you feel good and give you a perfect and relaxing reset right before bed. And since our days start so super early and we hence want to sleep faster we need a good positive boost right before we hit the sack!