Raja Ram (musician)
| Raja Ram | |
|---|---|
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Raja Ram on a tour for 1200 Micrograms | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ronald Rothfield |
| Born | 18 December 1941 |
| Origin | Melbourne |
| Genres | Electronic, jazz, ambient, Chill-out music, Downtempo, psychedelic rock, psychedelic trance |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Flute, synthesiser |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Associated acts | Quintessence, Shpongle, The Mystery of the Yeti, The Infinity Project, 1200 Micrograms, The Zap!, Cyberbabas |
Raja Ram (born Ronald Rothfield, 18 December 1941) is an Australian-born musician and the owner of the United Kingdom record label Tip World. Ram left Australia in the 1950s to begin the hippie trail. He returned to Australia later and studied flute at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Ram travelled to New York in 1965 to study jazz. He was a founding member of the psychedelic rock band, Quintessence, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing at the first two Glastonbury Festivals (then 'fayres') in 1970 and 1971.
Shortly after, Ram retired for personal reasons and became an envelope salesman. In the 1980s, he returned to his music career being interested in the emerging genre of electronic music. He was one of the first people to make what is today considered psychedelic trance.
Raja Ram formed TIP Records in 1994 with Graham Wood and Ian St. Paul. Richard Bloor then joined them and together they made TIP one of most well-known goa trance labels. After the label folded in 1998 Ram then founded Tip World in 1999 .
He has founded or been involved with a number of bands since The Quintessence. Firstly The Infinity Project (T.I.P.). Some of the first tracks were produced of Martin Freeland of Man With No Name fame. The first track was celebrated by throwing the first of the legendary "Tip parties." TIP parties and TIP Records came from the name The Infinity Project. He then created Shpongle with Simon Posford and collaborated with a group of Goa Trance musicians to make two ambient albums of The Mystery of the Yeti. He is a founder of 1200 Micrograms along with Riktam, Bansi and Chicago. He often plays the flute on ambient tracks or on more full on tracks and has played flute as guest musician with Youth, Boy George and Sly & Robbie. He also has collaborated in 2 other bands called The Zap! and Cyberbabas with Benji Vaughan.
He did not start DJ'ing until he was in his 50s but soon became a headline act in the Psy Trance scene and continues to headline at large events worldwide.
Ram is married to Nita Devi, with whom he has a daughter named Sastra. He also has a granddaughter named Bella.
Projects
- Shpongle Psybient Music Project
- 1200 Micrograms Full-on/Psychedelic trance Music Project
Discography
- Spaceships of the Imagination (2000)
- Raja Ram's Stash Bag (2002)
- Raja Ram's Stash Bag Volume 2 (2003)
- Raja Ram's Stash Bag Vol. 3 – Smokers Jokers and Midnight Tokers (2004)
- Raja Ram's Stash Bag Vol. 3 – Smokers Jokers and Midnight Tokers (Unmixed Edition) (2004)
- Most Wanted Presents: Raja Ram the Godfather (2005)
- Evolution of Expanded Consciousness (2006)
- Raja Ram's Stash Bag Volume 4 (2006)
- The Anthology (2007)
- Raja Ram's Pipe Dreams (2013)
- Raja Ram's Pipe Dreams 2 (2013)
- Raja Ram's Stash Bag Volume 5 (2014)