There was once a time in American pop culture where a book or music endorsement from Oprah Winfrey was an express ticket to greater fame and mass popularity. Yet the TV icon’s love for Grammy nominated devotional singer Snatum Kaur’s music transcends mere enthusiasm. She says she plays music (presumably from Kaur’s extensive 20-year discography on Spirit Voyage Records) every day before meditating - and invited the singer to appear on her influential discussion show Super Soul Sunday.
Kaur is a beloved concert attraction in Europe, Latin and North America, drawing thousands to experience the profound transformative energy of her performances. Considering her great success creating sweeping, soul transformative Indian rooted music, it’s fascinating to note that Kaur was born in Colorado and raised in California. When she was six, her family visited India, where her mother studied kirtan, a Sanskrit word that means “narrating, reciting, telling, describing” of an idea or story. Joining her mother’s study and practice deeply impacted the singer’s life and development as an impactful artist. Another major influence was her stepfather Sat Santokh Singh, who enlightened her to the message-filled glory of folk music as manager of the Grateful Dead.
Artfully blending elements of these two seemingly disparate forms of music, Kaur’s second Be Why Music album Heartflow boasts her trademark soothing universal appeal but is also a deeper personal expression of her journey of healing after going through a period of loss and betrayal due to her discovery of the harm caused by a former spiritual teacher. The collection takes us from the soulful, meditative flow of “Tayraa Naam” – a dreamscape featuring her high toned vocals soaring over a swirl of gentle strings and table rhythm, complemented by Jahnavi Harrison’s hypnotic violin harmony – through the final track “Gobinday-Serenity,” a soft, graceful and meditative vocal-guitar duet that imparts a lasting peace to hearts and souls.
Amidst the lovely pieces that she sings in the Indian languages of Sanskrit and Gurmukhi – including the introspective, gently wafting “Ekongkaar-Heartflow” and charming and uplifting traditional chant singalong “Waaheguru-Fearless” – Kaur graces us with the seductive, Joni Mitchell-esque confessional “Runnin’ From This” and “Walkin’ Into the Light,” a hopeful, fun-filled and highly, danceable folk romp that draws inspiration from the Dead and pays homage to her stepfather who recently passed away.
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