Cool Band Alert - ganavya

Like A Prayer

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Name: ganavya
From: NYC-born, Tamil Nadu-raised
RIYL: Arooj Aftab, Mary Lattimore, Ana Roxanne, Nala Sinephro, Alice Coltrane
The Gist: The sound of a feather drifting lightly down onto a snow bank.

The theme of ganavya’s new record, according to the artist herself, is “doing what we need to do to keep carrying on”—a message with a very contemporary resonance. Listening to Nilam, it seems that one of the things we need to do is to make time for stillness; every one of its gooseflesh-raising songs is as hushed and patient as a nighttime prayer, ganavya’s tender voice somersaulting gently across spare, whispery backdrops of harp and upright bass. Centerpiece “Nine Jeweled Prayer” is a call-and-response that draws you slowly into its embrace, ganavya’s voice alternating with a small-group vocals singing her words back to her. The effect is hypnotic. On album closer “Sees Fire,” she exhales each note as if she’s handling thin glass, delicately and deliberately. Ganavya’s music forces you to slow down, if for no other reason than to fully appreciate its beauty.

Nilam is out May 23rd on LEITER. Pre-order it.

Dig this record and want more like it?

Nilam sits at the part of the Venn diagram where jazz, ambient, and contemporary classical overlap; if you like that, you’ll love our monthly columns dedicated to spotlighting the best in each of those genres. Aside from ganavya’s mesmerizing voice, the other key element on Nilam is Charles Overton’s harp. So why not dive deeper into the history of the harp in jazz and classical music? And if you love the way Nilam blends global music with a feeling of sacredness, you’ll flip for the music of Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru, which explores similar terrain. So does the music of Madhuvanti Pal, who’s putting her own spin on Indian classical music.

Listening Party Picks, May 22nd - 28th

Come hang in the chat with artists hosting album listening parties for their fans on Bandcamp this week.

May 22nd, Eska for The Ordinary Life of a Magic Woman. RSVP.
May 22nd, Sparks for MAD! RSVP.
May 22nd, Mikkel Rev for Journey Beyond. RSVP.
May 22nd, Madrost for Imagination Theory. RSVP.
May 22nd, Lacuna for What If I Told You I'd Been Lying The Whole Time. RSVP.
May 23rd, Home is Where for Hunting Season. RSVP.
May 23rd, Jackson Whalen & GES for Vocal Points. RSVP.
May 24th, khayaalat for The Completion of a Cycle. RSVP.
May 24th, Misery Machine for Misery Machine & Kyozetu_666拒絶666 RSVP.
May 25th, Fatalism for (n)ether RSVP.
May 25th, Professeur Whom for Changing Seasons. RSVP.
May 27th, Pierre Bastien & Michel Banabila for Nuits Sans Nuit. RSVP.
May 27th, Skullcap for Snakes of Albuquerque. RSVP.
May 27th, Tripulante for Inka Koya. RSVP.
May 28th, 808 Metropolis for Spontaneous Data Migration. RSVP.
May 28th, Abul Mogard for Quiet Pieces. RSVP.
May 28th, Labrador for My Own Version of Desire. RSVP.

For all upcoming listening parties, go here.