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Recording Embrace - an interview with Deva, 2002 |
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by Cousette Copeland |
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I have an image of Deva Premal and Miten, on the bow of a catamaran in the Bahamian Sea, resting in a gentle embrace, rocking to the rhythm of the ocean. Most couples in an embrace exclude everyone else, but Deva and Miten draw others into their love. Now we have that expression in music, on Deva's new CD, Embrace. |
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| CC: |
How did you choose the chants on Embrace? |
| D: |
All the chants come to us as gifts. Our friend Praful, in Amsterdam, composed four of the pieces. We commissioned him to write new material for the album because we loved his work on Om Shree Sache, the opening cut on Love is Space. I gave him a collection of mantras that I wanted to sing and he came back with these beautiful compositions. |
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We received one mantra from an enlightened woman named Shanti Mayi. She hopes we can get it out to a bigger audience in these troubled times. Teyata, the mantra of the Medicine Buddha, is equal to the Gayatri Mantra in terms of power. The translation goes: |
"It is like this.
Medicine Buddha,
You are the king,
The supreme healer.
Please remove illness,
Illness
and the Great Illness." |
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Illness can be understood on three levels: physical, psychological and mental. The Great Illness manifests as the illusion of duality, the root cause of our suffering. Chanting this mantra immediately summons the Medicine Buddha, though he lives light years away. |
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I also chose Om Ram Ramaya Swaha which translates as: |
| "Om and Salutations to that perfection in the physical realm which was Rama, whose attributes exist in me also. Kindly manifest". |
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This chant recalls memories of my early childhood. My father devised exercises for my sister and I, to help us become more aware of the moment: |
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We were taught to say 'Om' whenever we placed something on the table, for example. Another was to say 'Ram' whenever we switched on the light! Of course I stopped doing these as soon as I could get out of it, but now it feels beautiful to be singing the mantra again, as a gift to my father as much as for anything else. |
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One of my favorite singers, Jai Uttal, joins us on this piece. I was actually very shy to ask him to sing! On Love is Space he declined, but I asked again and this time he accepted. He is so sweet! And when he sang...ah...we all just melted in the studio. It was a blessing to have him with us. |
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| CC: |
How does Embrace differ from your prior two albums, The Essence and Love Is Space? |
| D: |
 I feel Embrace is the most accomplished, musically. We gave ourselves more room to explore the probability of miracles. I find it the most uplifting of the three.
I had a great team... Miten, Kit Walker, Jai, Ty Burhoe, Manose and many more wonderful people. Kit, our co-producer, was amazing on this one. He is a genius! Plus, we have some beautiful new material. Every piece was a joy to sing. |
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We have also developed the vocal sound more. Miten is more present in the mix than on the previous albums and it feels good. There is more balance between the male and female energies, and of course we love to sing together, and that feeling comes through. |
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| CC: |
In the US we mostly know you, Deva, but your partner Miten is an important part of your music, is he not? |
| D: |
Miten and I have been living and playing together for 11 years. Everything we do, we do together. This is why I always say "us" and "we". He is a beautiful man, musician and amazing songwriter, and has been my musical teacher, supporting me incredibly in my flowering. |
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| CC: |
Most of these are traditional chants. How do you go about developing the melodies and arrangements? |
| D: |
I used to be more serious about wanting to sing only traditional melodies, but I eventually realized that the main thing, is to enjoy singing the mantra. If a melody turns me on, I sing it. It's that simple really. |
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For me, it is unimportant if a melody is ancient or not. Praful and Miten, who composed most of the pieces on Embrace, are as divine as anyone else! |
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What I love about these melodies is that they run around in your head, like a pop song. Only instead of singing some superficial lyric, you're actually sub-consciously walking around the supermarket calling on the Divine. And if I can encourage people to remember their divinity as they go about their daily business --well, I feel that's as much as I can do in service to humanity. |
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This is my service. |
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| CC: |
I understand many listeners send you stories about how your music affects them. What are some of your favorites? |
| D: |
I'm most touched when people tell us they play our music during the birthing process. It's a very beautiful thought, that there are children out there who were brought into this world to the sounds of the Gayatri Mantra. It's an honor to be a part of that. |
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Also, we've heard several times that the music is played for people as they leave the body. To contribute something to this transition is, again, a great honor and touches me deeply. Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross, who asked Miten and I to sing at her funeral, suggested we sing personally for dying people. |
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...Which we'd already done, in fact. It is Satsang in all it's purity. |
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And there are those who enjoy the music while making love. So, we kind of cover the full spectrum... birth, death, and celebration! |
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We've also been told by people who were close to suicide, that listening to the mantras restored some joy and solace into their lives. Hearing these stories is very humbling. |
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| CC: |
What does the future hold for you? What new plans or projects do you have? |
| D: |
 Well, assuming we all agree there is no such thing as 'future', we are working on many projects! We are finishing work on a live album called Satsang. People have expressed their wish to have the mantras and songs "unplugged", and this will be just that. We're also planning a Gayatri Mantra re-mix. We've been throwing ideas around with some European DJ's. It is an interesting concept. |
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We're involved in organizing our annual holiday groups in Corfu, Greece (August 8-16)--a gathering of 40 people singing and chanting their way to god! And our Bahamas group (July 6-12)--in which we chant, meditate, and swim with beautiful, free dolphins. |
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We tour the U.S. in June and again in October and November. We'll also be traveling through Europe and Japan! |
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Basically, Miten and I plan to continue our touring. This is the most nourishing way of life we can imagine: singing with people and bathing in the silence of the chant. |
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This is IT! |
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We'll probably cut down sometime, but not yet. We plan six months travelling and six months at 'home', wherever that may be. Actually, 'Home' has come to mean wherever I happen to be on the planet, at any given time! |
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