Like a River to the Sea

‘Like a River to the Sea’ is the debut album of Jahnavi Harrison, released on July 24th 2015.

Jahnavi Harrison is well-known for her mesmerizing kirtans. Magical and somehow otherworldly they transfer us to a realm of divine bliss and happiness. Her debut album Like A River to the Sea takes us on a journey. Sometimes it’s to a holy site like Pandharpur, Mayapur, or Vrindavana, evoking a real sense of place. Often, though, it’s deep into our own hearts, to connect with our true selves and deepest yearnings.

The album is the culmination of Jahnavi’s own journey. Growing up in what she calls an idyllic childhood at the UK’s Bhaktivedanta Manor, she was familiar with kirtan from a young age and would learn the words to songs by the Vaishnava acharyas by heart.

But it wasn’t until she went on North America’s Krishna Culture Festival Tour at 19, and was exposed to the greater world of Vaishnava youth, that she became comfortable in her identity as a devotee and found her voice as a kirtan leader.

That was when Jahnavi’s life changed. She was invited to tour with kirtan artist Gaura Vani, chanting and playing her trademark violin at yoga studios across North America, South Africa, India, and Australia, and reaching out to a wider audience back home with Kirtan London.

After a torrent of requests for an album, Jahnavi finally accepted it as a direction from Krishna, and recorded Like A River to the Sea with Gaura Vani producing and Jai Uttal’s award-winning engineer Ben Leinbach mixing. Her album ‘Like a River to the Sea’ presents songs from the bhakti yoga tradition, set to original music. Each of the songs carries the voice of a great saint-poet, or sacred mantras. Along with friends and family who play traditional ‘kirtan instruments’ like the mrdanga drum and harmonium, she worked with a Grammy award winning pianist – John McDowell, a West African kora player named Ravi, and Asha who plays both Western and Hindustani cello. The album title alludes to a famous prayer expressed by the historic saint, Queen Kunti. She prayed to Krishna that ‘just as the river forever flows to the sea, let my attraction be forever drawn towards you, without any distraction or diversion’.

Listen to Like A River to the Sea album and buy it online or on a CD here.

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Read more about Jahnavi Harrison’s album on ramdass.org, iskconnews.org, check her website and follow her on Facebook .