Freedom and Leela
Freedom and Leela are singers and song writers who tour the world singing Indian Spiritual music, Sikh Kirtan, Music of India, Sikh music and ancient mantras at atmospheric, contemporary settings. They live in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Freedom was born in 1958 in Mombasa, Kenya as Sarbjit Singh Neel into a Khalsa family from India. Practicing the Sikh religion, he began his MusicAL journey at the age of 9 with formal training in Gurbani Kirtan, and in playing tablas. Under the guidance of Yogi Bhajan he became a Doctor of Chiropractic in 1982 from Western States Chiropractic College. In 1991 he began his inward journey, moved to the Sikh Temple Makindu, in Kenya and began to follow a path of mysticism as prescribed by Guru Nanak and Sikhism. Since then has been singing Kirtan, Devotional Indian Music and Punjabi music.
In 1995 Freedom met Leela, who was born Barbara Fraser into a Scottish Catholic family in 1962, in Nova Scotia. Leela began singing Christian and Sacred music with her family from the age of 6, and later added Celtic Fusion and Gospel music to her reportoire. She is classically trained as a professional soprano, receiving a Classical Degree and a diploma in jazz vocal performance from St Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Upon linking up with Freedom she began studying Gurmukhi, Indian scales and melodies, Temple music, bhajan, mantra meditation music and Hatha Yoga. In 2001 they both travelled throughout India for one year and recorded the CD titled RU, with renditions of the Gayatri Mantra and Mool Mantra. They have recorded a total 10 Indian Devotional music recordings
Freedom and Leela are perhaps the best known Canadian singers of Indian kirtan-style devotional music. Similar artists include Krishna Das, Bhagavan Das, Jai Uttal, Wah, Deva Premal, Girish and Snatam Kaur.