Jolantha Fries (born 2 April 1970), known professionally as Deva Premal, is a German singer known for her performances of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

mantra A mantra ( ; Pali: ''mantra'') or mantram (Devanagari: मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words (most often in an Indo-Iranian language like Sanskrit or Avestan) belie ...

s. Her music is composed and produced with Prabhu Music. Her album ''

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

'' (2018) was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best New Age Album at the

62nd Annual Grammy Awards The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 26, 2020, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from October 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Ali ...

Biography

Premal met her partner, Miten, at the Osho International Meditation Resort in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, in 1990, where she was studying

reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...

shiatsu ''Shiatsu'' ( ; ) is a form of Japanese Bodywork (alternative medicine), bodywork based on concepts in traditional Chinese medicine such as Meridian (Chinese medicine), qi meridians. Having been popularized in the twentieth century by Tokujiro N ...

craniosacral therapy Craniosacral therapy (CST) or cranial osteopathy is a form of alternative medicine that uses gentle touch to feel non-existent rhythmic movements of the skull's bones and supposedly adjust the immovable joints of the skull to achieve a therap ...

and

massage Massage is the rubbing or kneading of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pa ...

. They have toured together since 1992, offering concerts and chant workshops. In July 2005, Premal chanted the

Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra (), also known as the Sāvitrī Mantra (), is a sacred mantra from the ''Ṛig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. The mantra is attributed to the rajarshi Vishvamitra. The term Gāyatr ...

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, Premal discussed the effect of chanting mantras: "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 Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

featured Premal's version of the "Gayatri Mantra" on her Farewell Tour, and Russian prima ballerina

Diana Vishneva Diana Viktorovna Vishneva (''also Romanization of Russian, trans.'' Vishnyova; ; born 13 July 1976) is a Russian ballet dancer who performs as a principal dancer with the Mariinsky Ballet (formerly the Kirov Ballet). Personal life Vishneva wa ...

danced to Premal's "Gayatri" in Moses Pendleton's F.L.O.W. series.

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

reportedly gave copies of Premal's "Gayatri Mantra" to the cast and crew of

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. It began with the original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel series, '' Galactica 1980'', a line of book adaptat ...

, and cited her music as inspiration for his role as Commander Adama. 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 The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

at a 2002 conference in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, on "Unity in Duality". They sang the Tara Mantra, reportedly his favorite.Attwood, Janet Bra
''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 Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. It features eight mantras each chanted 108 times.

Music and information

Premal and Miten say they use a "natural selection" process to choose mantras for their albums. Premal prefers

mantras. 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 A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

Discography

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Premal, Deva New-age musicians Performers of Hindu music Living people 1970 births Musicians from Nuremberg Performers of Buddhist music 21st-century German women singers German Buddhists