About the Movement
The Karuna Movement is a collective of like-minded musicians weaving a flow of soulful reggae, and funky world grooves, while coloring them with catchy melodies and deep lyrical content. A real treat to experience!
"... one of the hottest new bands on the West Coast!"
- Dylan Perry CHLY 101.7
Deep and penetrating grooves and hard hitting melodies captivate listeners while gripping lyrical content inspires laughter, reflection and keen self awareness. This Movement of worldly artists came to together on Vancouver Island in the spring of 2007 when they began to share their message of hope and inspiration through the soothing vibrations of their unique and powerful music.
A few years later and they had toured extensively throughout Western Canada and played at several major festivals including Diversity Festival, Calgary Reggae Festival and a headlining slot performing to an enchanted crowd of fans at Islands Folk Festival. (Watch for them at Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival 2011)
As the project has progressed, Jon Bone and The Karuna Movement have had the great fortunate to share the stage with inspirational artists such as Clinton Fearon, Mishka, Rootz Underground, John Brown's Body, Delhi to Dublin, Culture Brown, Shane Phillip, IBO and Kindread, Moses Maze, Randeesh and Goodbye Beatdown and more ... They have also enjoyed radio play on stations all across Canada and globally including CHLY 101.7 FM, CHMO 900 AM, VIBE 98.5 FM, CJSW 90.9 FM and CBC Radio 3 and many more.
The Movement's touring trio project, "Karuna Vibes", continues to hit the Western Canadian circuit and bringing it home with their lively mix of funky reggae and soulful ska. Member's include Jon Bone (lead vocals, guitars), Dave Baird (bass), and Chad Gillespie (drums, vocals). A live album is set to be released in May 2011 along with the long awaited studio EP entitled "Island Life" (featuring Juno winner Dubmatix), so stay tuned for that and more !!!
Karuna means Compassion. Music is Medicine.
The Karuna Movement is the quality of compassion expressed in musical form. Interestingly, "passion" comes from a latin word meaning "to suffer". Similarly, compassion means "to suffer together". When we musicians come together and create music we express, in that raw musical form, what lay in our hearts and our minds. And in the hearts and minds of all human beings, alongside feelings of joy and happiness, there lay feelings of sorrow and lamentation. So when we open ourselves with music, we share these feelings with each other. As we share ourselves with all of you who, through your dance, enjoyment and support, give inspiration for the whole musical expression. It is a beautiful relationship between artist and audience. As our hearts open so may yours and vice versa. There is a basic spiritual recognition in this group experience through which we can all begin to see, or at least feel, how we are intrinsically united in this fleeting existence. We are never alone. We are all together enduring the hardships of life. All together, we strive to be free and happy. In this light, we can begin to see the pain and suffering of others as our own. Compassion has arisen. We then work for the benefit of others because their happiness naturally reflects our own. Compassion takes action.
In it's most fundamental form, The Karuna Movement has been moving for centuries. It has manifested in many ways and in every culture of the world. It's the mission to bring the qualities of respect, kindness, wisdom and compassion into our lives and communities.
In it's most fundamental form, The Karuna Movement has been moving for centuries. It has manifested in many ways and in every culture of the world. It's the mission to bring the qualities of respect, kindness, wisdom and compassion into our lives and communities. This particular musical manifestation took root on March 21st, 2007 (the international day for the elimination of racial discrimination), with a 3 hour show involving 16 musicians from the West Coast of Canada and the Caribbean Islands, coming togather on Vancouver Island and lead by Jon Bone(writer, lead vocalist, guitarist, and producer). Since then, it has been onward and inward as the band has deepened it's feel and intention and the project has developed into "the hottest new band on the West Coast" - Dylan Perry (CHLY 101.7 FM).
To learn more and hear more of Jon Bone 's music,
click the button to visit his customized MySpace site.
To be of benefit ...
"We have 14+ musicians playing parts on this album and collectively we have chosen a handful of charitable and non-profit organizations that vibrate well with us. To start, 10% of all of our profits will be donated to these charities. As and when we might be so fortunate as to earn more, we will increase this percentage based on the sliding scale we have designed. Our idea is not so much to emphasize any specific charity or non-profit, but to express our intention to be of benefit with our lives and our music. We would also like to encourage you to live your lives with a similar intent. To donate some of our well earned income to these kinds of organizations, that work so very hard to do good in this world, is certainly a great way to be of benefit. But there are many ways in which we can all contribute to our communities. What is most important is to cultivate these kind of compassionate intentions in all aspect of our lives."
- The Karuna Movement
