Jahnavi Harrison Unveils Captivating New Single “Divine Maha-mantra”

By Kamala Radha devi dasi | Apr 11, 2021

Jahnavi Harrison released her latest single, “Divine Maha-mantra” on March 28th (Gaura Purnima). This latest offering will be the artist’s 4th single release since her 2015 album Like a River to the Sea.

Jahnavi Harrison was raised in a family of Bhakti-yoga practitioners at Bhaktivedanta Manor, one of England’s most important spiritual landmarks. As a child she was fascinated with song and story, and has nurtured that interest through her life long exploration of music, dance, visual art and the written word. She is a musician who aims to channel her creative expression as a path to self-realisation and service.

For over 14 years she has travelled the world, offering her voice and violin playing in the performance of sacred music and call-and-response mantra chant (kirtan). Her sound encompasses rich influences of East and West, and aims to offer an experience which truly nourishes the spirit. Based in both London and New York, she offers regular concerts, sound baths and workshops.

ISKCON News recently sat down with Jahnavi to discuss her newest single and her life.

You have had a few singles come out over the last year, is there a new album in the works?

“I would like to say there is a new album in the works…but my principle is generally not to say too much until it’s almost finished! You tend to disperse the creative energy that way and it can make it harder and more pressured to work on something. I am certainly working on new things and pray to share them in the coming year!”

Have you found this last year in pandemic/quarantine affected your work?

“It certainly has. It was hard and often impossible in the COVID lockdowns to collaborate in real time and space with other musicians. Things have changed a bit now, in terms of possibilities being more open, but most of the recent singles I released have relied heavily on remote recording and have also taken a lot longer to complete than usual. The pandemic also affected me in catalyzing my conviction that it is more important than ever to release sacred sound vibration into this world with frequency and consistency.”

You have collaborated with so many great artists, could you tell us about some?

“I have had the good fortune to collaborate with so many wonderful artists over the past few years. Some of them are more well known than others, but each collaboration is special to me, as each person brings something so unique and special to a creation. In this most recent recording of ‘Divine Maha Mantra’, I was so happy to include some of my oldest friends, like Nadiya Mani (we have been best friends since we were babies), her husband Amala Harinam and Gaura Vani and his daughters Revati and Kairava, who have been so hugely instrumental (no pun intended) in encouraging me on this path of devotional art. We were also blessed by the instrumental contributions of people like Benjy Wertheimer, who I toured with for several years as part of the devotional group ‘The Hanumen’, and a new found friend from Kolkata, Debasmita Bhattacarya, a renowned player of the sarod (Indian lute). The artwork was a collaboration with my friend Kaveri Dasi, who inspires me so much with her endless, joyful creativity and adventurous spirit with everything we work on together.” We recently produced a beautiful poster from the artwork we created for the ‘Govinda!’ single: https://iamkaveri.bigcartel.com/product/govinda-1