White Swan Records Artist Deva Premal Shines in New Video

The "Gayatri Mantra" is perhaps the oldest prayer known to humanity. As a prayer to the sun, provider of life to Earth, it is, at its core, a plea for the enlightenment of all sentient beings on the planet. In ancient India, the "Gayatri Mantra" was the exclusive property of a chosen few, passed down from Brahmin to Brahmin for many generations, and always completely forbidden to women.

Millennia later, celebrated mantra singer Deva Premalfirst heard the "Gayatri Mantra" while still in her mother's womb; her father Wolfgang -- breaking with a tradition that he probably didn't even know existed -- sang the mantra to his unborn daughter throughout the nine months she was in utero, and welcomed his baby into the world with its most holy sound. The prayer became the German-born singer's bedtime song, which she chanted every evening throughout her childhood.

In 1998, Deva recorded the "Gayatri Mantra" for her debut album, THE ESSENCE. Since then, the record has gone on to become a true classic in the yoga/chant/new age genres, with sales approaching nearly one million copies worldwide, and "Gayatri Mantra" has become a perennial favorite of her fans and the standard opening piece in her concerts. With Miten, her personal and musical partner of over two decades, she continues to travel the globe to spread their message of compassion, meditation and transcendence, sharing the transformative healing energy of mantra with ecstatic souls everywhere.

During their customary non-stop touring, Miten and the pair's longtime accompanist - the Nepalese bansuri flute maestro Manose - shot video segments of Deva singing the "Gayatri Mantra" in far-flung locations around the world. Those casual, off-day shoots were edited together to become a moving new video: "The Gayatri Mantra Around the World".

This stunning, 10-minute movie is set in iconic locales dense with resonant significance, e.g., Berlin's monumental Holocaust Memorial; Ground Zero in New York City; the Shiva Temple in Rajasthan, India; Macchu Picchu in Peru; the Strawberry Fields memorial to John Lennon in New York's Central Park; and the "grassy knoll" in Dallas, site of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Other notable locations include Buckingham Palace and the glorious Wells Cathedral in England, the Grand Canyon and other natural wonders, and the Dead Sea in Israel.

Shooting in 32 countries from 2008 through 2010, these musicians-turned-cameramen captured Deva's engaging incantations of the beloved song on city streets, in open desert, in the ocean, by tropical waterfalls and at sacred sites - as well as by the bedside of a dying friend at his home in Phoenix, Arizona.

Performances were skillfully edited together from footage taken on five continents marrying the soothing melody of Deva's interpretation of the mantra with dazzling footage of the enchanting vocalist in some of the planet's most beautiful and meaningful places.

Translated, "Gayatri Mantra" means, "Through the coming and going, and the balance of life, the essential nature, which illumines existence, remains. May all perceive through subtle intellect the brilliance of enlightenment." This simple prayer is the core of Deva Premal & Miten's musical mission, and underlies their intention in creating and releasing this video: "Our vision is that this most powerful and ancient prayer be shared with as many people as possible during the coming year - Please send it to everyone you know - friends, family and acquaintances - let's share the Gayatri and heal the world today!"

"The Gayatri Mantra Around the World" serves as a moving document of an ancient prayer's lasting relevance and power - and the worldwide reach of Deva Premal & Miten's message.

The video, released through YouTube on December 20, 2012, can be viewed here: http://youtu.be/SlUsoWmso9U.

"The Gayatri Mantra Around the World" was filmed in these locations:

The Dead Sea, Israel; Corfu, Greece; Maui, Hawaii; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Nosara, Costa Rica; Alto Paraiso, Brasil; Zurich, Switzerland; Paris, France; London, England; Wells Cathedral, England; Findhorn, Scotland; Madrid, Spain; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Copenhagen, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; Stockholm, Sweden; Berlin, Germany; Cologne, Germany: New York, New York; Washington, DC; San Francisco, California; Vale da Luna, Brasil; Los Andes, Chile; Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado; Boulder, Colorado; Vienna, Austria; Florianopolis, Brasil; Mullumbimby, Australia; Maya Tulum, Mexico; Grand Canyon, Arizona; Big Island, Hawaii; Bimini, Bahamas; Toscana, Italy; Venice, Italy; Budapest, Hungary; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Riga, Lativa; Prague, Czech Republic; Bucharest, Romania; Moscow, Russia; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Brasilia, Brasil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Valparaiso, Chile; Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; SAN JACINTO State Park, California; Dallas, Texas; Granada, Spain; Balamek, Mexico; Braj, India; Rajasthan, India; Chichen Itza, Mexico; Machu Picchul, Peru; Byron Bay, Australia; Phoenix, Arizona; Warsaw, Poland.

Since its launch in 1991, Boulder-basEd White Swan Records has remained steadfastly attuned to the creative listener's sensibility, developing an alluring, diverse catalog of music styles including Sanskrit mantra, kirtan Americana, Indo-Jazz Fusion, traditional Tibetan chant, Zen moods, Afro-Celtic fusion and Sufi melodies. The label's catalog includes work by best-selling mantra performers Deva Premal & Miten, kirtan Americana troubadour David Newman, acclaimed Turkish Sufi multi-instrumentalist Omar Faruk Tekbilek, devotional pop singer Donna De Lory, UK world fusion activists Baka Beyond, flute maestro Gary Stroutsos, Canadian folk/kirtan singer-songwriter Brenda McMorrow and Tibet's Gyuto Monks produced by Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead. More information athttp://whiteswanrecords.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.