Akara

Akara is a symphony for the post-digital age.  Elegant classical composition combined with detailed psychedelic production, mystical, devotional vocals with lyrics beyond language combined with deep synth bass.

Fully composed for and recorded with a small classical orchestra of top-notch players, and featuring the ethereal vocals of Femke Weidema, Akara’s sound is a high-quality, cinematic, intelligent musical journey through consciousness.

Akara is created and curated by Joshua Penman, an award-winning composer with performances in Carnegie Hall, by seventeen full orchestras, and by choruses, bands, and chamber ensembles around the world. Joshua has also scored five films, holds a doctorate in classical composition, played in Balinese and Sundanese gamelans, and studied ragas in India with master vocalist Devashish Dey.

The name Akara comes from the Indonesian words for “root or vine” and “ritual or performance” and the energy of the project is inspired by the trance rituals of Bali, the shamanic ceremonies of the Amazon, and the new visionary art and culture of Burning Man and the West Coast festival scene.