Deva Premal, a world-renowned mantra singer, is back! Her 2020 Grammy-nominated album, Deva, has just been released in its instrumental version in a bold and inspiring move by the singer — Deva: The Instrumental Meditations.

Miten, the executive producer of the album and Deva’s partner in real life, says this of the newly-released album, “To take Deva’s voice away seems crazy, but what lies beneath is a gorgeous musical landscape, perfect for quiet moments of deep contemplation.”

Absolutely true. While Deva’s voice is glorious (I listen to her other tracks on Spotify where she sings wonderful Sanskrit mantras), listening to this album’s tracks, minus her voice, brings a different experience altogether to the listener. The album is ideal for meditation!

The star guest of this album is renowned sitar virtuoso and multi-Grammy nominee, Anoushka Shankar, one of the most accomplished and celebrated instrumentalists in the world. In Prabhujee, the composition of her father, Ravi Shankar, is brought to life by Anoushka with grace and beauty.

You can also hear Canadian musician/producer and multi-instrumentalist, Joby Baker. While most of the instruments used in this album are acoustic – piano, bansuri (bamboo flute), upright bass, sitar, and percussion — Joby also incorporates modern, electronica recording techniques. Joby produced all of Deva’s and Miten’s albums since 2012.

What I found hauntingly beautiful was the ethereal sound of the bansuri, wonderfully played by Nepalese bansuri maestro Manose. You can hear it clearly in the tracks Buddham Sharanam and Mahamantra. Vakratunda Mahakaya is also a delight to listen to as it combines Joby’s percussion with an almost playful intro by Manose’s bansuri that transitions towards the end into more relaxing and calming tones.

Both ends of the album’s tracks feature two versions of Deva’s mantra, Seven Chakra Gayatri Mantra. In the opening track, you can hear Anoushka’s sitar while in the closing track, Joby executes it in ambient piano tones that end with the listeners feeling relaxed and peaceful.

Listen to Deva’s entire album here.

Deva’s album, Deva: The Instrumental Meditations, is one that I can listen to over and over again when I need to be surrounded by serenity and peace. It is a wonderful meditation album.

You can find the album on iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Deva and Miten’s website.

Read also what I thought about Miten’s own album, Devotee, here.