‘Santhosam’ – meaning ‘happiness’ in Tamil – is a fresh explosion of energy, vibrant colours and addictive tabla rhythms. It celebrates happiness and life.

Once again Ragu collaborates with her brother, producer Japhna Gold and takes her ‘ragu-wavy’ one step further. The blending of sounds from Tamil tabla beats with Western old-school RnB and sonic pop influences creates the unique style of this powerful brother and sister duo.

In her 2021 debut mixtape ‘damnshestamil’ Ragu introduced this unique new style and gave us a first taste of what she’s capable of. Now in ‘Santhosam’ we see her in another level of bloom, in her element, confident, celebrating her true self.

The album was released on October 20th by Warner UK, along with a mini album commentary series ‘The Road to Santhosam’ which gives an insight into Ragu’s family story and the elements she took from her cultural upbringing to make this record.

The album artwork, designed by Indian artist Manuja Waldia, expresses Ragu’s duality of her identity as an artist. We see her standing in front of the ruins of golden Tamil temples, which represents Sri Lanka’s civil war that led to her family’s migration, while the Swiss mountains loom in the background symbolising her home.

In ‘Santhosam’ Ragu takes us through her journey to finding her purpose in life and music – to finding happiness. It’s an empowering story about personal liberation from sociocultural expectations, finding the confidence in her vision and being able to breathe after a long time of being ‘suffocated’. The record possesses a power to heal and uplift, creating a cathartic – almost euphoric – emotion that you want to bring on the dancefloor!

Ragu starts off strong with fast tabla beats and powerful vocals on ‘School Me Like That’ which represents breaking free from limitations – escaping family pressures and the societal expectations to get married and settle down. ‘One Way Ticket’ follows and brings in a pop-disco energy, reminiscent of Dua Lipa’s ‘Future Nostalgia’, and releases an unbeatable desire to dance and connect with your inner rhythm. The striking ‘Black Goose’ and its reprise ‘Let Me Breathe’ were written in 2020 as a response to the BLM protests that emerged after George Floyd’s murder by the police in the US. Ragu here takes a political stance and sings about the realities of police brutality, calling for solidarity and mercy. ‘Black Goose/Let Me Breathe’ was also featured in A Colours Show shortly before the release of the album, with Ragu giving a powerful performance. ‘Easy’ draws on UK garage beats, giving a strong taste of urban London with classic cars and iconic outfits in the music video. While the closing track ‘Mani Osai’ is a beautiful and intimate family collaboration between Ragu, her brother and father.

As 2023 has already been a shape-shifting year for Priya Ragu, 2024 is set to be even more exciting with the kick-start of her US tour, followed by a short EU and UK tour and finishing at the legendary venue KOKO in London on April 26th.

“It’s all in my hands right now, it’s all in my hands right now” (#9 Adalam Va!)

And this is just the start for Priya.

Highlight Songs: One Way Ticket, Hit The Bucket, Mani Osai