Arthada

Arthada was born in Innsbruck in 1962, and makes music whenever his job as a doctor allows. Since childhood he has been playing various instruments, but has never been trained in any of them. It was enough for him to listen to his father play instruments like lute, organ, concertina, harmonica and piano. An avid music lover, his father formed several private choirs and published a few song books. It’s this joy of music that Arthada has inherited from his talented father. In his youth, Arthada too founded a music group – a blues band to be exact – which even hit radio stations.

In 1978 he began teaching himself how to meditate and practiced meditation on and off, until in late 1988 he dedicated his life completely to spirituality. At that time he sold his fully-equipped E-guitars, and in a fit of detachment, he gave away his extensive collection of 30 flutes, and all the other instruments he had so passionately collected: lutes, guitars, a banjo, homemade balalaikas, a Chinese violin, Chinese plucked instruments, and various other Asian instruments. Then he started playing esraj, but after some ten years traded it for an Indian sarangi. Further, he has all along played Indian classical flute (bansuri), other flutes, some guitar, Indian hand drum (madal) and harmonium. Of all ensemble members, he is the one who puts the most time into creating albums. The most important quality he brings into the group is his great love of spiritual music and spirituality proper; this love impassionates the rest of the group and also acts as a cohesive force.