Band:

Sintir and Electric bass, Quarquaba, Vocals

Lead vocals, Talking drum, Djembe, Congas, Percussion, Quarquaba

Lead vocals, Dance

Drum Kit

Lead vocals, Quaraquab

Keyboards, Kalimba, Berimbau, Pandeiro, Marimbula, & more

Contributing Members:

Saxophone, Flute, Rhaita, Lira, Jaw harp, Synth

Lead vocals, Kora

Guimbri, Saz, Lap Steel, Guitar, Echoes

Quarquaba, Percussion, Vocals, Dance

Sax, Flute, Ney, Vocals

Vir McCoy - vir@hamsalila.com

Grew up in Venice Beach Ca., Oregon, and Costa Mesa, Ca. Vir plays the Sintir or Hejooj. Inspiration came from the Gnawa of Morocco. A direct connection to healing music of the earth. "2000 year old funk". Vir also plays guitar and was in notable bands, The Mushroom Helmut, Compost, Sasquatch and You. Currently plays guitar for Foxgluv and does studio work. Vir also put together an children's album called Kid Kaleidoscope (www.kidkaleidoscope.com) "the coolest kids CD ever". Music and healing are a major part of Vir's focus with Hamsa Lila. Special events such as the "Chakra Opera" - a multi-sensory event focused around the 7 chakras have been incorporated into Hamsa Lila shows. Vir works part time as a field biologist with rare and endangered plants and animals. Vir also co-creates medicines which are comprised of a unique combination of herbs, homeopathic treatment, gem and flower essences, star essences, essential oils and other offerings (crystalfoundation8@yahoo.com). Vir teaches a style of intuitive medicine, pranayama (breath work) and does intuitive bodywork.

m.j. greenmountain - mj@hamsalila.com

m.j. greenmountain, lead male vocalist and percussionist for HL, has composed much of the lyrical content and vocal melodies of HL's material. He comes from a diverse background in music and culture, having traveled the world extensively. m.j.has studied with masters from many different cultures, and has learned sacred songs, root rhythms, and chants from around the globe, while also participating in sacred ceremonies with many indigenous tribes from India to Australia, Egypt to the Americas. He has composed and produced complete original music scores for feature films, and documentaries. m.j. has played with world and other music notables such as Michael Franti & Spearhead, Ozomatli, Hassan Hakmoun, Jai Uttal, Babatunde Olatunji, String Cheese Incident, and many others. He is also a singer/songwriter (reggae-style with rhythm guitar), works with youth and adults teaching rhythms & chants of the world and does direct healing work with people using music as the medium.

Nikila Badua - nikila@hamsalila.com

Originally from the Hawaiian Islands, Nikila's family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she expanded her love for cultural diversity. Acknowledged for her ability as an aspiring visual artist throughout growing up, after finishing high school, she worked as a freelance artist (designing: billboards for Tower Records, murals, magazine, book and cd covers, and illustrating two books on the healing arts), while studying eastern holistic practices at the School of Healing Arts in Pacific Beach, California. It wasn't until she became overwhelmed by early motherhood that Nikila chose to dabble in music, dance, and spoken word poetry as a means of spiritual grounding and self development. Her experience as a vocalist began in San Diego with Panamanian reggae singer/activist, Elijah Emanuel of The Revelations; who also encouraged her to pick up guitar. Around the same time, she became involved with the Congolese dance community. This all opened up doors to a whole new world of cultural expansion, and since then, Nikila has worked with master teachers from around the globe, including dancers, musicians and choreographers from: Olodum, Bale Folclorico da Bahia, Raices Profundas, Nacional Conjunto Folklorico de Cuba, and Fua Dia Congo. Other past projects: studied extensively in Salvador, Bahia and danced for Brasilian bloco "Male Debale" in Carnaval 2000; founder, choreographer, and performer of The H.U.M. (Human Unity Movement); world acoustic music project with Paris-based Congolese singer/dancer Borrina Mapaka; TranceZenDance; Fasso Barra; Ebo Okokan; Nevada City Dance Community; and Kumbaka. Currently, Nikila also sings in a hip hop project called "DragonHouse" with Abai (Kumbaka) and Suga (Jahi and the Life); she is a co-founding member of the West Oakland Noodle Factory Warehouse Arts Project and Freestyle Union - bringing the arts and conscious hip hop culture to the community. Nikila continues her works as a visual/graphic artist, while co-raising and homeschooling her eight year old son, Elijah Sage (previously a dancer for the Sacramento Kings' hip hop group "Show Biz Kids" and starred in the abstract theater piece "Peter Plan B").

Ian "Inkx" Herman - inkx@hamsalila.com

Ian “Inkx” Herman was the house-drummer at the legendary Shifty Records in Johannesburg, South Africa during the Anti-Apartheid uprising of the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Shifty Records recorded mostly anti-establishment and politically active artists who the mainstream media wanted silenced such as Mzwake Mbuli, Lesego Rampolokeng with the Kalahari Surfers, The Genuines and Vusi Mahlasela. In 1994, Ian left South Africa for New York City. At that time he was working with Ray Phiri, a South African producer who co-wrote and produced some of Paul Simon’s Graceland album. Ray hooked him up with Paul and he spent the next 3 years living in New York working with Paul Simon, Aster Aweke, Dominic Kanza and Baghiti Khumalo. In 1997, he relocated once again, this time to San Francisco where, among many other gigs, he began working with The Post Junk Trio, Shabaz and Foxgluv. Ian has been touring internationally with the WOMAD festival playing with Tananas, a band from South Africa and Mozambique. Some of the other artists Ian has worked include Abdullah Ibrahim Dollar Brand, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Duran Duran, Sting, Manfred Mann and Sebongile Khumalo. Ian has written and produced music for film and television and has done remix projects including Hamsa Lila's Inkx Remix.

Deja - deja@hamsalila.com

Originally from Northern California, Deja has traveled to many foreign countries where she participated in indigenous ceremonies of song and dance. Her travels have taken her through Central and South America, into Europe, and as far as India and Nepal. Deja has always had a soulful sound and it was in India and Nepal where she developed her Middle Eastern singing style and love for the ancient stringed instrument called a tanpura. In addition to singing with Hamsa Lila, she also plays the quarakab (large metal castanets from Morocco) used for the trance aspect of the music. She lived in Nevada City, where she is one of the founding members of the land restoration and sustainable living community called Earth Om. There she was in many bands such as Solid Space, LSJ Trio, and Fanna Fi Allah. (Fanna Fi. Allah Sufi based Qualli party recently released their first album with Deja.) She worked with many MC’s (master of ceremonies) in the Reggae and HipHop world such as Soul Medic, Sista Kat and Johnny D. Deja was featured on several tracks on the recently released album by Living Alliance of Love with Johnny D and will be featured on Sista Kat’s upcoming album. She also performs with the collective ensemble of the One World Orchestra. In her free time, Deja is working on a compilation album with various artists.

Evan Fraser - evan@hamsalila.com

Originally from Orcas Island, Washington, Evan Fraser is a multi-instrumentalist and recording artist currently based in the Bay Area.
Evan graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in World Music.
His teachers include: John Bergamo, Randy Gloss, Alfred Ladzekpo, Kobla Ladzekpo, Sulley Imoro, Nyomen Wenton, Jim Santi Owen, and Mark Growden.
Evan has played with many bands over the years including Hindugrass, Tabla Rasa, Rub-a-Dub, Dubzilla and the Funnies. With the Funnies, Evan did several tours across North America in a bus that filled up at restaurants on pure recycled vegetable oil.
Evan's mission is to heal this planet and it's peoples by elevating the consciousness of each other's culture and the beauty of this Earth through music.
Some of the instruments Evan plays are: Jaw Harp, Kalimba, Berimbau, Pandeiro, Marimbula, Melodica, Overtone Flute, Frame Drums, Calabash,
Dumbek, Zabumba, Mouth Bow, Bottle Singing, Harmonica, Bones, Spoons, Keyboards and various global percussion.