Black Swan Records
Using a combination of sounds from hip hop, dub, rap, reggae and Sanskrit mantras to lace together themes of change, awareness, and breaking boundaries, Srikala delivers an album of conscious messages with a captivating mainstream sound.
Srikaloy’s New Paradigm is on the crest of a new wave of what is considered to be yoga music. The music that has become familiar in yoga classes and bhakti celebrations is now a melting pot of different traditions and backgrounds of the artists. This development should be no surprise as the word yoga itself means ‘union’. Srikala finds this union by marrying his identities as a trained audio engineer and his six years of study as a monk of transcendental sound vibration in the bhakti tradition.
Srikala’s lyrics in State of Mind identify an emerging age where hip hop is paired with awakening our relationship to all people in order to “unify the tribe,” and to wear more “prayer beads instead of fake bling.” The theme of the entire album can be summarized in its title track, New Paradigm, reminding us that we are on a journey where the “destination is the depths of your core,” and it’s time for “old paradigms (to) dismiss and abort.”
With the help of featured artists such as Malia Kulp, Jesse Johnson, Trevor Hall, and J Brave, Srikala’s rhythmic patterns aid in slowing down the chaotic mind while other tracks pick up the pace to light a fire from the inside out — as if the beats he creates are coming from your own heart. Because of this, I enjoy listening to New Paradigm in the morning to inspire my day, as well as in my personal yoga practice, allowing my own evolution to have a soundtrack.
The popularity of mashing up modern sounds with ancient messages, such as New Paradigm, could be an indicator that not only is yoga music sounding more modern, but modern music and artists are becoming more conscious.
Olivia Kvitne is Assistant Editor and Newsletter Editor for LA Yoga/Bliss Network. This year she is serving as the official blogger for Bhakti Fest and Iowa Yoga Festival. She specializes in trauma-sensitive yoga for veterans/military and first responders. Most recently she served as Yoga Coordinator for Golden Bridge’s new hot studio. Subscribe to her YouTube channel for short and fun interviews with well-known names and faces in the yoga world.
