Desert Dwellers Live At The UNION

By Nikita Mehta

Last week, the Desert Dwellers spun its tantalizing mix of eastern and western beats on the stage of the UNION in Downtown LA. Couldn’t be there? Not to worry, SF Yoga Mag flew down to the city of stars to vibe in and chill out with this Colorado-based group. Never been to a Desert Dwellers concert before? Neither had we! Here are some things that we learned during our first trip down into the deep bass and earthy beats of this duo:

1) The Desert Dwellers were the main event and therefore the last act to hit the stage! They didn’t make an appearance until 1 am at this show. You know what?! We didn’t mind! The opening acts were amazing! Kaminanada and Random Rab were scheduled to be spinning their beats and they both brought their own brand of base to the party. You know who wasn’t scheduled to play but got us into the vibe of the evening? Anton Tumas! We were amazed at his fun and upbeat set when we first arrived at the venue! We also loved Kaminanda’s dance moves with his electric guitar but the biggest surprise was Maz Karandish’s surprise sitar accompaniment! We recognized Maz as soon as he took the stage from his amazing performance at Wanderlust last year with the beautiful Priya Deepika Mohan. This set was full base dance music, electric guitar and sitar; what more could you ask for? Random Rab came in just as the crowd was in full swing and kept the beat going. He freestyled on the mic, had beautiful fan dancers grace the stage and had amazing psychedelic images projecting behind him. 

2) Dress code was Burning Man meets Electric Carnival! Just looking at all the amazing clothes that people were wearing was an event in and of itself! Our favorite pieces of the evening were being sold in the lobby by LunaRa Design. Our favorite outfit included thigh-high rainbow bright socks, platform heels and a lace bralette. Other musts for our next Desert Dweller’s concert? Lights! Light up swinging globes, lighted head pieces, finger lights for psychedelic mini light shows; the dance floor was alight with glowing colors. 

3) One should see the Desert Dwellers ready to dance, dance, dance, dance. Really though, come prepared. At the end of the night we realized we had been dancing for 5 hours, and with the beats that were being laid down, we could have danced for another 5. This was an ecstatic dance/ contact dance/ freestyle breakdance/ anything goes dance party that allowed freedom of expression for all. 

4) This is perfect music for your yoga playlist. We know, because it’s been on our playlist all year long! Someone always comments at the end of class wanting to know what the cool mix of Indian vocals and dance beats is. The answer is Desert Dwellers!

Sad that you missed this show? Not to worry, Desert Dwellers will be up north on January 11th in Santa Cruz and tickets are only $15! For a full list of their upcoming tour dates go to: http://desertdwellers.org/tour/.