What a journey to live for nearly four decades on this earth, enjoying the incredible beauty of our planet and her creatures, learning the hard way through challenging mistakes while discovering more about the soul’s purpose. Ever since I can remember, I have heard and followed the inner Adjuster, and though I have not always perfectly followed my guide, I continue to live in this light as if my soul depended upon it. I feel the Adjuster also speaks through music sometimes, and that music is an efficient way of cleansing the mind and body in order to better listen, and so I approach music as a kind of bridge or higher language. Often, I am guided through music and musical relationships into territories, landscapes and communities where revelation comes quickly and clearly. That is how Roots Grown Deep was born, and that is how it continues to thrive.

I was born and raised in the USA and well trained in a myriad of Euro-centric disciplines: philosophy, religion, science, maths, and the arts. European classical music shaped my technique and ear, while jazz music provided the pathway for my liberation. When I moved to South Africa at the age of 23, I was ready to receive the wisdom of more ancient ways and absorb the entrancing rhythms, soaring melodies and flowing poetry of the indigenous music. I imbibed the music of our village, while living a life committed to children and plants. This fusion of artistic influences, augmented by my constant immersion in land-based culture and wilderness embrace, yielded a new kind of music and the growth of a multi-cultural ensemble which received the name Roots Grown Deep. For the past decade, I have been stewarding the travels, performances, recording productions and educational missions of this incredible family of people.

Videos from Joel Karabo Elliott

Joel Karabo Elliott
Limpopo, South Africa / North Carolina, USA

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