I might as well admit that Desert Dwellers is currently my favorite world fusion, downtempo yoga music, as there will be many reviews and recommendations of their music on this site.

I discovered Desert Dwellers on iTunes a couple of years ago and they quickly moved into heavy rotation on my iphone.

In a bit of synchronicity, about a year later I discovered that Rara Avis, one of it's members had moved to my town. When I ran into him a month or so later doing a live gig, I introduced myself and he's become a musical mentor and a friend.

On their first full album release, Desert Dwellers meld elements of downtempo and psy-chill with sinewy basslines, otherworldly guitar and an exotic mix of organic instruments into an Indo-ambient mystical fusion. Created and composed by Amani Friend and Rara Avis, and produced by Craig Kohland, founder of the Shaman’s Dream Ensemble, DOWNTEMPLE DUB: WAVES pulses with lush rhythms and serene harmonies, guiding a sonic odyssey into the soul of the global heartbeat.

Desert Dwellers' roots lie in a thriving community of provocative artists, creative thinkers, and progressive-minded individuals based on the West Coast. Since the early 90s, their extended family has assembled regularly, forming a sacred space where people can relax, tune in and bliss out to chillout, ambient and downtempo music produced by a loosely-knit collective of DJs and producers. 

These gatherings have extended the frontier of electronic dance music and today form the epicenter of the techno-tribal renaissance movement. DownTemple, in addition to being the title for this new music series, is also the theme for some of these downtempo events, where a vision of promoting a conscious way to walk peacefully in the world is shared by all. 

When White Swan suggested the name DownTemple Dub for this series, they were stunned by the synchronicity, as the organizers for Downtemple are some of our closest friends and share our eagerness to spread the ethos of Downtemple and Desert Dwellers alike. 

This is the intent written into our music: that it may contribute to the overall well being of the people living on this planet. Music is our key to healing. Music is our key to finding fellow travelers during these intense times, and it is our key to understanding the great depths of human emotion, and our potential to soar.