Cafe De Anatolia has released Ektā, a nine-track ambient and New Age album that draws its title from the Sanskrit word for oneness. The record features musicians from India, the Balkans, Latin America and beyond, blending sitar, tambura, Balkan choir, ney flute, and solo flute across its runtime.
International Collaborators and Production Credits
The album brings together Grammy-winning producer and composer Antaeus, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree Madame Gandhi, and Amani Sol of the Relax My Dog brand. Vocals come from Madame Gandhi and AleMor, with lyrics by Monika Ilieva. Violin performances are contributed by Frederika Krier and An Vedi, while the East Balkan Noble Voices choir adds depth to the arrangements.
Production credits include Nickarth, with dulcimer from Pete Giatrakus, ney flute from Thanassis Vassilopoulos, sitar from Iasonas Psarakis, tambura and guitar from Billy Esteban, and kaval, duduk and oud performed by members of Rialians On Earth. Grammy-winning engineers Joe Maldonado and Alex Psaroudakis handled engineering, with Grammy-nominated Tony Correli, Stefan Petanovski, and Valdera also contributing behind the boards.
Chart Performance and Publishing Deal
Since its August 14 release, the album has topped the iTunes New Age chart in the United States and the overall albums chart in India, surpassing 100,000 streams. Cafe De Anatolia has described the project as an attempt to let silence do some of the composing. Tracks like 'Ocean' slow the pace almost to stillness, while 'Deep Water' is built around a Balkan choir and a flute pattern from producer Nickarth.
Written by Nikola Iliev, Monika Ilieva and Zoran Iliev through the group's publishing arm CAMELWAV, five of the album's tracks are now represented by Sony Music Publishing MENA. The project continues with listening events in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and London this fall, and has been submitted for Grammy consideration.
Community Signals
Login or Sign up to broadcast on this frequency.
> No signals detected on this frequency.