CD: Mantras for Life

Mantras for Life CD by Deva Premal and Miten with Manose on Nepalese flute includes chants to invoke very specific intentions, among them: for animal welfare; for the blessing of children; for poetry, music and learning; for perfect timing; for physical strength, and for the earth itself. Based upon the tradition of Japa, a spiritual discipline centered upon the meditative repetition of mantra (in cycles of 108 recitations), Deva Premal and Miten invite the listener to join them in chant -- and to utilize humanity's most powerful healing tool: the voice.

For nearly two decades, audiences around the world have flocked to concerts and collected the recordings of beloved mantra singers Deva Premal and Miten. Raised in Germany to the sound of mantras, Deva Premal met UK rock musician Miten in India, at an Ashram where they both studied meditation. Deva's contemporary interpretations of Sanskrit mantras have been forged ever since with the subtle and sensitive instrumental accompaniment of Miten and in recent years also of Nepalese bansuri flute maestro Manose.

When Deva Premal and Miten recorded Mantras for Precarious Times in 2010, they saw it as the first in a series of albums offering thoughtfully curated selections of mantras chosen for particular applications in everyday life. It was followed in 2011 by the groundbreaking Tibetan Mantras for Turbulent Times, recorded with the Gyuto Monks Ð with whom a western woman had never before been afforded the privilege of chanting and recording. The Gyuto Monks are a tantric order of Tibetan Buddhism, and tantraÕs deep, harmonious balance between masculine and feminine energies is profoundly illustrated on this intensely evocative album.

Both projects met with widespread success and captivated an ever-growing global base of fans interested in undertaking a daily meditation practice.

Mantras for Life was conceptually focused on supporting the listener on his or her journey into a committed meditation practice, and in its original intent had a minimalist approach to music. But, as the recording sessions unfolded, so did the musical expression.

Miten comments, ÒEvery album has its own spirit. Like raising children, you begin with great intentions and a pre-conceived idea as to how best support and nurture them Ð but, just like children, music is a living phenomenon, and it has ideas of its own, which we did our best to honour. We found ourselves at the feet of the Great Musical Spirit, and we threw ourselves into its sublime mystery. Deva's voice became more transcendent, more 'there,' more ethereal. Maybe it had something to do with our time in Byron BayÉthe spirit of the vast untamed land of Australia is still wild and free, and it encouraged and challenged us to explore. As a result, this album developed into a musical statement that we had not originally anticipated.Ó

Mantras for Life testifies to the success of their experiment. Deva Premal and Miten consider themselves flame carriers of a 5,000-year-old tradition. They continue to deliver mantras in an accessible way for the growing legions of new practitioners who are adopting mantra meditation as a transformational discipline in their everyday lives.