Exclusive Premiere: Songstress Priya Darshini’s Ethereal Music Video ‘Home’

In terms of exploring new age music, New York-based artist Priya Darshini seems to have hit the right note with “Home,” the gentle new earworm that’s off her upcoming album Periphery (out May 15th via Chesky Records).

Originally from Mumbai, the singer worked in T.V., film (Basmati Blues, with Pearl Jam, no less) and radio as a singer even as she was prepping her own material. Multi-genre and featuring a host of artists, “Home” showcases Priya Darshini’s versatility and sonic diversity, mirroring new age artists but also retaining Indian classical leanings. The song – and Periphery on the whole – is heightened by hammered dulcimer plater Max Z.T. (part of House of Waters and a regular with multi-instrumentalist Karsh Kale), cellist Dave Eggar (who’s worked with everyone from Beyoncé to Paul Simon), percussionist Chuck Palmer and drummer Will Calhoun (from veteran rock band Living Colour).

A combination of friends who brought in their own associates, Priya says through the course of recording, they “held space for each other to feel safe enough to bring authenticity and our most creative selves in the moment.” She adds, “By the end of it, we were quite emotional and moved by how powerful a recording process of this nature can be for an artist.” The album was recorded live on an omnidirectional microphone, which perhaps has resulted in the surreal finesse heard on “Home.” Priya adds, “No compression or EQ was used. To me, the ‘recording’ itself is a piece of art and lies at the intersection between our music, architecture, and the recording technology.”

While the album and the song expresses ideas of identity and “living with complex socio-cultural identities,” the video – directed by Mumbai filmmaker Megha Ramaswamy – is a metaphor-heavy presentation. Shot in Borivali National Park in Mumbai, there’s smoke, maiden-like figures, mannequins and Priya Darshini in the midst of it all. Ramaswamy adds in her note, “We suspended the song into some land, water, sky and places where creatures build homes.”

Understandably, with a global Coronavirus pandemic being battled by multiple countries, Priya hopes that her music and thoughts about “finding sanctuary within one’s self” will help in some way. “These are unprecedented times; times of vulnerability, isolation, collective anxiety and grief. This world-on-pause moment is begging us to take a deep look inside ourselves,” she says.

Watch the video for “Home” below. Stream the song here.