Resonance In Motion

Exploring the relationships between sound, tradition, creativity and human connection.

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There is the practical story of how the Crystal Slide began.

While travelling through the Himalayas with my instrument, I lost my steel slide bar and needed to find another way to play. Experimenting with different objects, I eventually discovered a crystal sphere. What began as a practical solution gradually revealed an entirely new voice, both sonically and artistically.

Over time, the Crystal Slide came to represent far more than just a style or choice for my instrument.

It eventually became a way of thinking about music itself.

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A tool.
A technique.
A symbol.
A methodology.

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Music has always been more than entertainment.

Across cultures it has served as celebration, meditation, storytelling, healing and a bridge between people.

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Rooted in the traditions of Indian Classical Music and Nāda Yoga, yet open to influences from around the world, my work explores the resonant relationships between tradition and innovation, discipline and creativity, performer and audience, sound and silence.

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In many ways, raga is a practice of restoring the quality of our attention.

Whether performing on the Crystal Slide Guitar, leading a retreat, facilitating a workshop or collaborating across cultures, my intention remains the same: to create meaningful musical experiences that invite curiosity, presence and genuine human connection.

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The crystal represents clarity.

The slide represents movement.

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Together they become a symbol of resonance in motion, a reminder that music like life is not static and fixed, but a living process of listening, responding and relating. Like flowing water mirrored in the meend of Indian classical music, each note carries the memory of the one before it and the possibility of the one to come. It is a continuous unfolding of relationships

—between sound and silence, discipline and freedom, tradition and creativity.

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Today, the Crystal Slide represents more than an instrument or performance style. It is an invitation to explore what becomes possible when tradition and creativity meet with openness, integrity, innovation and curiosity. 

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Through concerts, retreats, recordings, workshops and collaborations, I hope to create spaces where these relationships can be experienced rather than explained

—where sound becomes not only something we hear, but something we embody,

— where resonance becomes a quality of awareness we continue to cultivate

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Shivam Rath

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Indian Classical & World Music • Nāda Yoga • Immersive Performance

Retreat Facilitator • Music Producer and Cultural Facilitator 

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Multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, yoga teacher and creator of Crystal Slide. His work bridges Indian Classical Music, Nāda Yoga and contemporary world music through immersive performances, cultural collaborations and educational experiences across Australia and internationally.

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Music as a living practice of listening, rooted in Indian Classical tradition and brought to life through cross-cultural collaboration, improvisation, and contemporary music production.

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Facebook: ShivamRathCrystalSlide

 Instagram: crystal_slide_shivam

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MUSIC LINKS

https://soundcloud.com/shivam-rath 

https://shivamrathakasha.bandcamp.com

 https://insighttimer.com/crystalslide

 

Spotify:

Shivam Rath / 

MicotsukiShivamoon

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Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ShivamRath

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Biography

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Shivam Rath is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, yoga teacher and founder of Crystal Slide—an evolving artistic practice exploring music as a living practice of listening. Rooted in the traditions of Indian Classical Music and Nāda Yoga, his work brings together ancient musical wisdom with contemporary creativity through immersive performances, cross-cultural collaborations, retreats and original compositions.

Born into a family immersed in music and yoga, Shivam's musical journey began in childhood with his father and later deepened through extensive music and yogic studies in India. Guided by renowned teachers including Pandit Debashish Bhattacharya (Indian Slide Guitar), Pandit Chhote Lal Mishra (Tabla), Riley Lee (Shakuhachi) and continued mentorship with respected Indian classical musicians, he has devoted over 15 years to the study and performance of raga, rhythm, improvisation and mantra.

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At the heart of Shivam's work is the expressive voice of the 22-string Hindustani Slide Guitar, performed using his own unique crystal sphere. Alongside vocals, tabla, Japanese shakuhachi flute, live looping and contemporary music production, he creates performances that move seamlessly between meditative listening experiences and vibrant rhythmic journeys. His original compositions draw inspiration from Indian Classical Music while embracing influences from world music, reggae, funk, electronic production and improvisation, creating a sound that is both deeply rooted and unmistakably his own.

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Alongside his performance career, Shivam has completed formal studies and has a bachelor degree in songwriting and music production, expanding his artistic language while remaining grounded in traditional practice. This has enabled him to develop immersive performances that respectfully bridge ancient traditions with contemporary sound, making these musical forms accessible to diverse audiences without losing their depth or integrity.

Shivam has performed, taught and facilitated workshops, concerts and retreats throughout Australia and internationally, collaborating with acclaimed Indian musicians while also producing original cultural events, festivals and educational experiences. Whether performing on stage, guiding a retreat or sharing music in community settings, his intention remains the same: to create meaningful experiences that invite people into deeper listening, connection and presence.

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​Whether performing on stage, leading a retreat or collaborating across cultures, Shivam continues to share music that honours tradition while embracing creativity, inviting audiences into experiences of deeper listening, connection and joy.

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REVIEWS 

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"With years and years of training and experience with high level musicians and masters around the world, shivam is both gifted and skilled in his creative expression. He has a really strong sense of style, and flavour and brings this to everything he does musically. This allows him to stand out in a uniquely beautiful way in which he flourishes and thrives, sharing his wholesome sound with the world as he pushes boundaries. He has an incredible ear and understanding for music. Through mastering his craft and western styles he  merges the two beautifully. He has a strong and sound sense of creative workflow. He is a hard worker, dedicated and passionate."

Peer Review from SAE Student Council member Alice Magill 

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"When I close my eyes and listen to Shivam play the Slide Guitar I am truly surprised to see he is not an Indian" 

Sangeet Mishra, 8th Generation Sarangi Player. 

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"A celestial Skywalker" 

Murray Kyle, Music Troubadour. 

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Today, Crystal Slide continues to evolve as an artistic practice that brings together performance, education, collaboration and contemplation, inviting people to experience music as a living practice of listening.

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Artist Statement

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My parents are musicians, I have been blessed to have music in my life

because music has been my greatest teacher.

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Music has always been more than entertainment.

Across cultures it has served as ceremony, celebration, meditation, storytelling and a bridge between people. My own journey has gradually revealed that beneath every tradition lies something universal: the practice of listening.

For me, music is not simply something we perform or consume. It is a way of paying attention. A way of cultivating presence, curiosity and connection—with ourselves, with one another and with the living world.

Rooted in the traditions of Indian Classical Music and Nāda Yoga, my work honours the depth of lineage while embracing the creative possibilities of the present. Through improvisation, original composition, cross-cultural collaboration and contemporary music production, I seek to create experiences that feel both timeless and alive.

Whether performing an intimate raga, producing an immersive concert, leading a retreat or collaborating with artists from different musical traditions, my intention remains the same: to create spaces where people can slow down, listen more deeply and experience music as something that unites rather than divides.

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I believe traditions remain alive not by standing still, but by evolving with integrity. My work is therefore not about blending cultures for novelty, but about discovering the shared human qualities that exist between them. In many ways, resonance emerges not from isolated moments, but from the relationships they reveal.

Ultimately, I hope my work encourages people to experience music not simply as performance, but as an ongoing practice of creativity, cultural exchange and human connection.

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Let me know if this resonates ;) 

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2021 Regent Cinema

Interview

First memory of music :

 

My first formal memory of music is singing with my father Indian scales (Do, Re, Mi equivalent ~ Sa, Re, Ga) for pocket money in Suffolk park Byron Bay.

 

Why was I drawn to Indian music ?

 

With a father who named me Shivam and played Indian music himself it could seem clear. But then again I rebelled for a long time until I left Byron at 18 and began living with my father in Sydney resuming his influence. This eventually led me to Yoga which led me independently to India where I met my Father’s Tabla teacher and began formal training from nearly 30 years apart.

 

 

When did you start playing the Crystal Slide ?

 

Firstly lets define the instrument I play as the Hindustani Slide Guitar (Hawaiian Lap Steel meets Sitar meets Veena) and my father and my Tabla teacher directed me to that instrument given my inclination to melody and string having already expressed my ability to play guitar. Instead of using a steel bar I began exploring other objects after losing my slide in the Himalayas and eventually drew upon a Crystal Ball. Crystal Slide is like a stage gimmick.

 

 

What am I doing in Lockdown ?

 

I am producing my own new work and practicing to blend live acoustic looping with electronic synthesis for deeper sub bass frequencies to contrast with the high end of my instruments. Since COVID began I applied and received a scholarship at SAE which is a 2 year course that I am nearly halfway into.

 

 

 

How can people best support my music?

 

I think Bandcamp is one of the best platforms to buy music directly from Independent artists as opposed to online streaming. However even without buying “my music” simply subscribing to say my YouTube channel or to my Website and encourage me with feedback and communication would also be highly meaningful.

 

 

3 best albums ever ?

 

My musical taste is always changing so this is actually the hardest question yet.

 

Stevie Wonder ~ Higher Ground

Ravi Shankar ~ Chants of India

Debashish Bhattacharya ~ O Shakuntala

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