Introducing... Ujjaya

Name of band: Ujjaya

Members: Hery Randriambololona (all instruments)

Year formed: 1993

Location: Montigny le Bretonneux (near Paris) – France

“I’m mainly a live artist. I make nap or sleep concert. Many of my concerts take place

in sacred places like Hindu temple, church, crypt or Pagode mainly in Paris.”

Ujjaya first was a ritual-psychedelic-heavy-prog sextet.

Founded in 1993, after the first album, I was seeking for a music that reflected more my spiritual concerns and naturally ended to play ethno-ambient music around 1997. After 15 years of silence, (and

dozens of albums recorded in complete secrecy) I decided to become public again around 2011.

Intravenous Magazine: Who are you and how did the band/project come to be formed?

I was studying medicine but ended as a professional musician as I was obviously making more music than anything else. The success of my first public album 'The Master Of Crossroad' gave me confidence in that choice.

IVM: How would you describe your sound/style, and how did you arrive at it?

It’s Ethno-ambient. It reflects my spiritual search. As a yoga practicer, and as a malagasy (mix between Indonesia and Africa) the style was obvious for me at the first track around 1997.

I was hearing that kind of music (Jon Hassell, Jorge Reyes, Steve Roach and so on) long ago

but I was still stuck into my electric guitar then. When I decided to make a definitive step into that

unknown land the instruments came to me (as both I came to them into my travels thtough Asia)

IVM: Who and what are your primary influences both musical and non-musical?

Tuu, Jon Hassell, Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Jorge Reyes.

Hinduism, shamanism, esoteric ism, yoga, Buddhism, poetry (Indian poetry , and spiritual poetry)

IVM: Do you perform live and if so where can we see you perform in the near future?

Yes I am. I’m mainly a live artist. I make nap or sleep concert. Many of my concerts take place

in sacred places like Hindu temple, church, crypt or Pagode mainly in Paris.

My next date will be January 14th in the auditorium of the public library of Clichy (in the near suburb of Paris) with another artist called Archetype (who is more on the drone side than me but also make sometime some ethno-ambient track à la Dead Can Dance)

IVM: What is your current release and where is it available from?

My current release is a live album available for free at https://archive.org/details/eg0_162

IVM: What have been the highlights of your career so far?

My second Sleep concert into the Hindu temple of the Dharma Sangh in Paris (in Nov 2016), it was just pure magic all night long.

My concert into the great pagoda of Vincennes, at the foot of the 9 metres golden Buddha for the day of Bhutan (May 15th 2016). Baza Rimpoche the head of the Buthanse Buddhism gave the initiation of long life. We ended by recorded him a full day in a studio in Paris.

The Sacred Night in the Saint Merry Church ( 28 of May 2016) in Paris which gather all the religion (Buddhist, Jews, Sufi, Hindu and Christian).It lasted all night long and I played at the morning around 5 or 6 after the dervishes.

The Ambiosonic festival 2015, in south of France which happen in the middle of nowhere into the wild. All the energy was provided by solar installations. Only vegan food for 5 days.

IVM: What are your plans for the future?

Get a label for a physical album.Take time to make my website and a bandcamp (I’m ashamed but I haven’t any yet ). Organizing the Paris Festival Ambient on a greater scale. Have a collaboration with an African traditional player, Adama Ouedraogo, and another with Ian Naismaith, an ethno-ambient American guitarist (Two projects that I started but as to be finished ). Another collaboration with a Chinese jaw’s harp player called Wang Li is still mo my mind since 2011. Never found the time to start it. A long time goal is still approaching the illumination and the silence.

IVM: Finally, is there anything that you would like to add?

Not enough time (much is devoured by promoting myself) too much projects

Links:https://www.facebook.com/Ujjaya.ethno.ambient/

https://archive.org/details/eg0_162

Posted in: introducing,Ujjaya