Madame Gandhi changes the mood with “Crystals & Congas”

Photo Credit: Bret Hartman

Madame Gandhi returns with a new global percussion-inspired single “Crystals & Congas.” Recorded in Los Angeles, Memphis, and London, and co-produced by Madame Gandhi with GRAMMY Award winning writer/producer MNDR (Tokimonsta, Carly Rae Jepsen, Flume, Mark Ronson) and Ebonie Smith (Hamilton, Santigold, Janelle Monáe) “Crystals & Congas” is the first of a new batch of music coming from Madame Gandhi later this year. Written by Gandhi, the captivatingly rhythmic song is an energetic rumination on the importance of staying mindful, healthy, and empowered that centers her strength as a lifelong percussionist.

“‘Crystals & Congas’ came out of a music production workshop I was doing out of I/O Music Academy in Hollywood, California,” says Madame Gandhi. “I was working on a beat that incorporated live percussion and drums and I ended up really loving the triplet and fast-paced feel. I knew I wanted to develop it and make it into a song, and it was a joy to partner with my friends Ebonie Smith and Amanda Warner (MNDR) to take it to the finish line. The original file name of the beat was entitled ‘Crystals & Congas,’ and so I wanted to honor that and shape the theme of the song around those healing modalities that helped me tremendously in the pandemic: meditation, nature, music, and personal healing. The lyrics reflect lessons I have learned that allow me to walk as a kinder, more empathetic, more peaceful person on the planet. My hope is that when my audience sings back these lyrics they experience them as mantras that clear the mind, call in more love, and inspire more service.”

Madame Gandhi will be bringing “Crystals & Congas” to her dynamic and powerfully affirming live sets at the 2022 Pridefest Oakland in Oakland, California on September 11, and Durham Pride Celebration in Durham, North Carolina on September 24. For complete details and ticket information, please visit: Pridefest Oakland and Durham Pride.

Madame Gandhi was recently quoted by Wired Magazine UK as approaching her career with an “entrepreneurial mindset,” having “pioneered the use of data to inform some of her strategic choices as an artist. In short, she’s running her career like a startup.”

Following the release of her previous albums Voices (2016) and Visions (2019), Madame Gandhi spent time during the pandemic completing a masters in music, science and Technology at Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music & Acoustics, where she learned how to build her own underwater microphones, and begin recording whales, dolphins, and more to make electronic beats out of and sample into her music. Earlier this year, Gandhi traveled to Antartica where she put her new skills to use by recording the sound of glaciers melting in an effort to create empathy around climate action and infuse this inspiration and these sounds into her new music.

About Madame Gandhi:
Madame Gandhi is an award-winning artist and activist known for her uplifting, percussive electronic music and positive message about gender liberation and personal power. She began producing music in 2015, after her story running the London Marathon free-bleeding to combat menstrual stigma went viral around the world. She has been listed as Forbes 30 Under 30 in Music, and her 2020 TED Talk about conscious music consumption has been viewed over a million times. Her video for the track “Waiting For Me,” shot in Mumbai, India, won the Music Video Jury Award at SXSW Film Festival in 2021, and her 100% Organically Sourced x Sound MANA nature sound pack won the New Wav award at the 2021 Splice Awards. In June of 2022, Gandhi completed a Masters in Music Science & Technology at Stanford University’s CCRMA where she spent time in Antarctica sampling the sounds of glaciers melting to create empathy and awareness around climate change.