About Joshua Stanton

Joshua Stanton, Winnipeg's premier sitarist, is a multi-instrumental vocalist, composer, and producer. He is also a fine artist, designer, and conceptual modelmaker.

Joshua was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1971, and grew up in St. Boniface, Manitoba. From a musical family and an early appreciation of Ravi Shankar and the late George Harrison, Joshua found himself before the Ustad Irshad Khan, Canada's scion of the legendary Imdadkhani Gharana of sitar, who took him as a personal student in 1995.

Mr. Stanton's central vision of a Progressive-Rock/Classical North-Indian fusion saw him design and build the DOBRO-VINA, a metal-bodied Indian Classical guitar, and produce a series of recordings featuring it. Joshua has produced at least a dozen recordings (albums, EPs, singles & soundtracks) since 1987 including Springtime ('91), the Change ('93), Thinkin' About You ('97), and Sins and Dreams ('01) on his Voidhouse label. His work has featured many guests and solo artists.

Joshua has performed innumerably at cultural shows, community events, and professional venues with many distinguished musicians of the Indian communities, including a 12-year feature at the India Pavilion. Mr. Stanton was a guest-soloist with the Art-Rock band Skingerbreadman, playing both "farewell" and reunion shows, and recording with their drummer. He wrote, directed, and performed in the Ragpickers Kailash! pantomime on the Winnipeg Fringe Festival Free Stage. Joshua scored the television commercial for the Manitoba Theatre Centre's A Perfect Ganesh, as well as Shannon Ottarson's silent short The Keys starring Ryan Black.

He is an associate of Manohar Performing Arts of Canada and Usha Sharma's Jhankaar School of Dance, creating and performing together the Bhuj Earthquake Benefit piece and appearing in Guy Maddin's The Saddest Music in the World; he also voice-acted the character Yudhishtira in Manohar's dance-drama The Game. With longtime associate Mr. Deep Singh, Joshua was a feature performer at Saddest Music: The Concert celebrating that film's release. Mr. Stanton has appeared numerously on both CBC Radio and the A-Channel's Big Breakfast television program, as well as the nationally broadcast Diya show on Omni TV. He has also appeared numerously as the skiffle-singing Chaplinesque hobo Poor Andy, notably at the Gypsy Train Song Cardboard Forest Event, a benefit concert produced by the artist, and in the silent short Better Bunk, Joshua's entry in the Winnipeg Film Group's One-Take Super 8 Event.

Joshua is as intense a performer as he is a personality. While his depth of talent and love of play compel him to create, he strives in the main to broaden his INNER music; the gift given then to the OUTER one being his great joy.

Hear the music

Browse a list of my latest recordings and download selected tracks.