Deva Premal, one of the top chant singers in the world, now offers a self-titled album, DEVA, which focuses on her singing and reflects the many dimensions of her soul and musical expression, from the beginning of her spiritual journey through today.
Press release by The Creative Service Company * thecreativeservicecompany.com
Even though this album spotlights Deva Premal (pronounced day-vuh prim-all) on vocals and tanpura, she is assisted by the musicians she regularly records and tours with: executive producer Miten (pronounced me-ten) on vocals; Manose (pronounced ma-nose’) on bansuri (a bamboo flute from India), vocals, sansula, percussion, bowls and bells; and producer Joby Baker on vocals, piano, keyboards, drums, percussion, bass and guitars. They are joined by special guest Anoushka Shankar playing sitar on two songs.
Deva Premal’s first recorded original composition, “Seven Chakra Gayatri Mantra,” debuts on DEVA in two versions (one to begin the album and the “Prabhu Mix” to close the recording). Her recording of this sacred mantra is released nearly 20 years after she recorded her ground-breaking version of the ancient “Gayatri Mantra” that appeared on her first album and received airplay worldwide, praised for its blending of traditional and modern elements. From the time she was in her mother’s womb and throughout her childhood, Deva’s father chanted the “Gayatri Mantra” to Deva each night as a lullaby, and the mantra has since played a metaphysical role in Deva’s life. After hearing this mantra in the mid-1990s, for the first time since her childhood, Deva spontaneously overcame shyness about her voice and stepped out from the shadows, transitioning from a backup singer for Miten’s devotional songs to the lead singer for Deva Premal & Miten. That mantra served as an inspiration and stepping stone for Deva as she composed the new melody for the chant on this latest album.
On the DEVA album, her voice is alternately soothing and uplifting, and ushers the listener into deeper states of meditation, into a place of refuge and conscious relaxation, and serving as a portal to inner-peace. Tracks range from alluring chants sung with life-partner Miten, to others featuring soaring bansuri flute solos by Nepalese maestro Manose, all embedded inside a musical landscape created by producer Joby Baker‘s sensual groove-based instrumentation. The mantras also include the prayerful “Prabhujee” written by Pundit Ravi Shankar and featuring his daughter Anoushka Shankar on sitar. Other mantras include “Sarva Mangala” (celebrating the Sacred Feminine) with guests Richard Moody on violin and Felicity Baker on backing vocals, “Buddham Sharanam” (seeking refuge in Buddha), “Mahamantra” (a tribute to the pure love of Krishna and Radha), and “Vakratunda Mahakaya” (an invocation to Lord Ganesha to remove obstacles).
Ground-breaking musicians Deva Premal & Miten are modern nomads on a mission to share with humanity the medicine of Sanskrit mantra. With over 20 years experience of singing ancient chants that inspire meditation, yoga, stress management, massage, and conscious sleep, Deva Premal & Miten not only model spiritually-conscious living but also share powerful tools for wellness, mind-fulness, and personal growth. They have been featured in top media including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and The Huffington Post; endorsed by celebrities as varied as Cher, Tony Robbins, and H H the Dalai Lama; included in movie soundtracks such as “Walkout,” “ 8 Seconds,” and the award-winning documentary “Mantra: Sounds into Silence”; and honored by large album sales, 550,000 monthly Spotify listeners and 400,000 Facebook followers.
This recording, and others by Deva Premal & Miten, are available at both mainstream and specialty digital stores throughout the world and also are available worldwide as CDs. For more information about the group and their music, go to DevaPremalMiten dot com.
The enlightened mystic Osho, at his ashram in Pune, India, gave the singer the name Deva Premal (“Divine Loving” in Sanskrit). There she was initially attracted to healing modalities, becoming a practitioner of reflexology, massage, shiatsu and cranio-sacral therapy. It was also there that she met Miten. “He was the coordinator of the ashram music and he wrote the most beautiful songs,” Deva remembers.
Deva Premal & Miten travel throughout the world offering unique concerts as sacred gatherings with a temple-like environment, where music is not an ego-driven performance, but rather, a portal to contemplation, inner peace, and heart-centered connection by both the performers and audience. As the musicians sing the core of mantra and improvise with instruments, all those assembled participate with their voices making each gathering a unique work of art, an interweaving of humanity, and an offering to the Divine, as well as an antidote to the isolation, stress, and chaos afflicting so many in today’s world, and thereby validating the power of mantra to heal the world, one chant at a time.
Since they first started recording together in the late Nineties, Deva and Miten have been considered pioneers and leaders in developing a new style of world-fusion music blending ancient mantras with contemporary music elements that has helped bring the transformative, healing power of mantra into the 21st century. Deva and Miten see their music as an invitation to take a break from the ceaseless turbulence of our troubled times and lead the listener into a space of inner peace, harmony and meditation. Their new release is another beautiful bridge to cosmic connections, an enchanting journey into mystic realms featuring East-West fusion soundscapes that soar with transcendent vocals.
According to Miten, “The music we make is born out of a committed spiritual practice. We meditate — we investigate — and our music is a result of that experience.” Deva adds, “Sanskrit mantras are ancient, primordial healing formulae that resonate at the very core of our being. By chanting communally, we access this profound depth of silence and inner peace, transcending all conflict, inner and outer.”
Flame-carriers of a 5,000-year-old tradition, Deva Premal & Miten are at the forefront of the burgeoning world-wide chant phenomenon. They are major contributors to the soundtrack of most 21st century alternative healing modalities, from rehab/detox/stress management clinics to yoga studios, spas and meditation centers, and shamanic gatherings and ceremonies whether in the depths of the Amazon or in urban areas throughout the world.
Merging ancient mantras of India and Tibet with contemporary musical settings, their debut album The Essence in 1999 introduced a new and unique musical genre. The album soared to the top of World and New Age charts globally and has remained a constant best-seller. Since then, Deva Premal & Miten have released many more albums of uplifting and inspirational music, and are acknowledged leaders in the field of world-fusion and blending ancient mantras and modern music. Many of their best-selling albums have gone to #1 on the iTunes and Amazon World Charts.
They have hosted online mantra meditation programs with more than 200,000 participants. They have graced festivals, concert halls, rock venues and cathedrals around the planet. Their numerous fans worldwide include such diverse luminaries as Cher (who recorded and performed their version of the “Gayatri Mantra” and said “The Essence is my all-time favorite album for yoga”), His Holiness the Dalai Lama (who proclaimed: “Beautiful, beautiful music”), life coach and motivational guru Tony Robbins (who felt the music to be “passionate and powerful”), and author Eckhart Tolle (who called their music “pure magic”).
In today’s crazy, hectic world, Deva and Miten’s chilled-out Sanskrit chants offer something of a musical balm to calm the nerves and nourish the tortured spirit. “For me there is nothing more precious than having sung with an audience ecstatic with bliss. Then we enter the inner world of deep peace that the mantras offer where all personalities are dissolved for an endless sacred moment into eternity with only joy remaining,” explains Deva.
Visit devapremalmiten.com for more information & samples