Deva Premal#Music and information

{{Infobox musical artist

| image = Deva Premal 07-9.jpg

| caption = Premal in 2006

| birth_name = Jolantha Fries

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1970|4|2}}

| birth_place = Nürnberg, Germany

}}

Jolantha Fries{{Cite web |date=2017-10-23 |title=Die heilsame Kraft der Klänge |url=https://www.nordbayern.de/kultur/die-heilsame-kraft-der-klange-1.6783200 |access-date=2019-10-15 |publisher=nordbayern.de |language=de}} (born 2 April 1970), known professionally as Deva Premal, is a German singer known for her performances of Sanskrit mantras. Her music is composed and produced with Prabhu Music. Her album Deva (2018) was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Age Album at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards.{{Cite web |date=2019-11-24 |title=‘Deva’ nominated for the 2020 Grammy Awards {{!}} Osho News |url=https://www.oshonews.com/2019/11/25/deva-nominated-for-the-2020-grammy-awards/ |access-date=2024-08-08 |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last=Times |first=Nepali |date=2019-11-23 |title=First Nepali to be nominated for a Grammy Award |url=https://nepalitimes.com/news/first-nepali-to-be-nominated-for-a-grammy-award |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=nepalitimes.com}}{{Cite web |title=Deva Premal {{!}} Artist {{!}} GRAMMY.com |url=https://grammy.com/artists/deva-premal/251968 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=grammy.com}}

Biography

Premal met her partner, Miten, at the Osho International Meditation Resort in Pune, India, in 1990, where she was studying reflexology, shiatsu, craniosacral therapy and massage.{{cite news|last=Brachfeld|first=Aaron|title=An Interview with Deva Primel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130618105333/http://meadowlarkherald.blogspot.de/2013/05/an-interview-with-deva-primel.html|archive-date=18 June 2013|url=http://meadowlarkherald.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-interview-with-deva-primel.html|accessdate=8 June 2013|url-status=dead|newspaper=the Meadowlark Herald|date=2 June 2013}} They have toured together since 1992, offering concerts and chant workshops.Dubrovsky, Anna. [http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/yi/Article.aspx?id=3095 Yoga Rock Stars] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101021043517/http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/YI/Article.aspx?id=3095 |date=21 October 2010 }}, Yoga International, September 2008.

In July 2005, Premal chanted the Gayatri Mantra for her father as he was dying. She recounted the experience: "We kept singing for what must have been over half an hour when suddenly the monitor showed that he was about to leave. I continued to sing, and the last sound he heard as he passed on was his beloved 'Gayatri Mantra'. Finally, we ended with the mantra Om, and the circle was complete. He had welcomed me onto this planet with the 'Gayatri,' and I accompanied him out of this physical existence with it."

In an interview with LA Yoga Magazine,Slovik, Sam. [http://layogamagazine.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=544&Itemid=1 Soul Balancing: Path of the Sacred Road Dog] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229010651/http://layogamagazine.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=544&Itemid=1 |date=29 December 2010 }}, LA Yoga Magazine, March 2010. Premal discussed the effect of chanting mantras:Shapiro, Ed & Deb. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-and-deb-shapiro/do-mantras-really-work_b_324820.html Do Mantras Really Work], Huffington Post, 20 October 2009. "The meaning is secondary...with Sanskrit, the word ananda is the sound vibration of bliss... It's working on a cellular level."

Premal's chants have been used in various contexts. Cher featured Premal's version of the "Gayatri Mantra" on her Farewell Tour,Tsering, Lisa. [http://www.hvk.org/articles/0903/116.html "Cher Chants Gayatri Mantra At Her Concerts"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214154045/http://www.hvk.org/articles/0903/116.html |date=14 February 2012 }}, Times of London, 5 September 2003. and Russian prima ballerina Diana Vishneva danced to Premal's "Gayatri" in Moses Pendleton's F.L.O.W. series.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h2fdZ6XpR8 "Beauty In Motion-F.L.O.W. Part III"], YouTube. Edward James Olmos reportedly gave copies of Premal's "Gayatri Mantra" to the cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica,Stailey, M. [http://www.dvdverdict.com/newsblog/mstailey/post/1500 Battlestar Galactica: All Access] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701161700/http://www.dvdverdict.com/newsblog/mstailey/post/1500 |date=1 July 2011 }}, DVD Verdict Legal Briefs, 8 June 2007. and cited her music as inspiration for his role as Commander Adama.Ruby, Jamie. [http://www.battlestararies-bsr26.net/apps/blog/show/prev?from_id=1569151 "Edward James Olmos: Exclusive Interview With MediaBlvd"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110104224625/http://www.battlestararies-bsr26.net/apps/blog/show/prev?from_id=1569151 |date=4 January 2011 }}, Battlestar Aries, 5 August 2009. He also used "Om Hraum Mitraya" from Premal's album Dakshina (2005) in his HBO movie Walkout.

Premal and Miten performed for The Dalai Lama at a 2002 conference in Munich, Germany, on "Unity in Duality".Tarab Institute. [http://www.tarab-institute.org/gb/congress4.htm Unity In Duality-Tendrel Congress] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319185611/http://www.tarab-institute.org/gb/congress4.htm |date=19 March 2012 }}, Tarab Institute, 10–13 Oct 2002. They sang the Tara Mantra, reportedly his favorite.Attwood, Janet Bray [http://www.healthywealthynwise.com/article.aspx?author=Janet%20Bray%20Attwood&title=Songs%20of%20the%20Divine:%0D%0AAn%20interview%20from%20the%20Dialogues%20with%20the%20Masters%20Series&Article=5394 Songs of the Divine: An interview from the Dialogues with the Masters Series], Healthy Wealthy nWise, Feb 2008.

Premal's Tibetan Mantras for Precarious Times (2010) was recorded with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet. It features eight mantras each chanted 108 times.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Music and information

Premal and Miten say they use a "natural selection" process to choose mantras for their albums. Premal prefers Sanskrit mantras.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}} She has stated that removing her ego from her understanding of the mantra allows its true meaning to be expressed. She describes their work as being "messengers of a 5,000-year-old tradition." Her vocal range is contralto.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}