New age artist, Kristina Bennett, recently released her second album, Shakti, via Pacific Records, debuting at #1 on the iTunes New Age charts. Impressively, it’s her second album in a row to hit that charts peak, after 2022’s album, Mother Tree. Sung in both Sanskrit and English, Bennett’s concerts with her group, Full Moon Tiger (Q Ortiz (percussion / cymbals), Nathan L. Samuels (darbuka), and Kelly Samuels (handpans / backing vocals), mix spirituality, exotic instrumentation and song craft, all adding up to performances that are captivating to even jaded listeners.
Also an acclaimed music teacher and sound healer, Bennett is originally from Cape Cod Massachusetts, residing in San Diego since 2018, though she had passed through the area previously. “I lived in San Diego first and then headed to the Bay area,” she said. “I was young and had dreams of California living. I really moved here because of the sunshine, the winters in Massachusetts are brutal! I also wanted to live somewhere completely new to the east coast. My real goal was to live in San Francisco, which I ended up actualizing. I lived in SF / Oakland for almost 10 years. It’s there that I discovered my voice and sound, thanks to my teacher Silvia Nakkach, and my amazing musician friends who I love so dearly. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for their love & teachings. I moved back to San Diego in 2018 and I’m very grateful to live here.”
Though considered new age, Bennett’s music also would appeal to world music listeners, with a heavy Indian influence, including singing Sanskrit mantras. “My music is heart-centered, healing music,” she said. “It’s mystical, spiritual, and I like to think it’s empowering. There’s also a component of deep reverence for nature – mother earth. My music is feminine influenced, but with an intention of integrating our yin & yang energies, our masculine & feminine, our shadow selves & our higher conscious selves. It’s less about gender and more about creating balance & unity for all of us as humans, as well as for the planet & all beings. A friend once described my music as Mother earth music – she said, “The earth is singing through you”, which I loved.”
What was Bennett’s introduction to Indian music? “I studied Voice, Sound, & Music Healing at the California Institute of Integral Studies in SF, from 2013 – 2014 under Silvia Nakkach, a world-renowned sound practitioner & now, Grammy-nominated musician,” she recalled. “The year transformed me. Silvia exposed us to all different types of music, sounds, cultures, traditions, healers, teachers, musicians, scholars and luminaries. It was mind blowing. I was coming from what I would describe as a very western-style approach to music. Silvia taught me about sound. Silence as sound. Crickets as sound. Wind, rain, and leaves rustling as sound. All which are music. She taught us icaros, ragas, and Indian mantras. In the following year, of January 2015 I traveled with Silvia to India to study Classical Indian singing for 3 weeks. The temples were especially memorable. Within many of them, people would be chanting 24 hours a day. It was hypnotizing as well as calming. Soon thereafter I began reading books on Sanskrit mantras and slowly integrating chant into my daily life. It was the best way for me to meditate. Even after a few minutes of chanting, I found I could sit in silence easier. It slowly started to change my life for the better.”
What sets new album, Shakti, apart from her previous album? “Mother Tree was my first attempt at composing new age music,” Bennett said. “I found that when I would play my instruments, I was singing mantras. The lyrics are very simple and zen, but I was always creating, and the music was flowing.” Mother Tree was inspired by Thomas Ashley-Farrand’s book, Healing Mantras. “Many of the songs are rooted in cultivating healing and compassion. “Om Shanti Om” for example, is a mantra invoking peace. “Om Shri Dhanvantre Namaha,” is a mantra invoking divine healing. The ethos of the album became centered around healing, with nature being a defining way to reach peace. I’m an avid bicyclist and environmentalist, so Mother Tree was born from my deep healing through nature.” Meanwhile Shakti, also centers around healing, but is “a much more personal album,” Bennett said. “It’s less about gender and more about integrating our energies, cultivating balance and harmony. I created Shakti in response to the climate crisis and our political crises, worldwide. I was also working through my own experiences, past and present, and as musicians do, needed to express and process them through music.”
Though Shakti has just been released, Bennett is already working on upcoming projects. “Full Moon Tiger and I will be releasing a 3 song EP and a video, and we’re continuing to perform and write more songs,” she said. “I’m also working with my dear friend Allen Aucoin, the drummer from The Disco Biscuits. He and two other good friends from Berklee (College of Music), Mike Desmond, and Aaron Goldberg, have a handful of lofi, ambient chill-out songs for me, which I’m currently writing lyrics for. We practice together once a week through FarPlay (an online music platform like zoom, but without latency). I’ll be releasing another single soon through Pacific Records, entitled “Daisy,” with Allen, Aaron and Mike.” Additionally, Brad LeBeau from Pro Motion is currently remixing Bennett’s song, “Tara.” “He’s remixed everyone from Diana Ross to Reba Mcentire to the Killers to Beyonce,” Bennett said. “I’m over the moon that he even said yes to the project, so if the remix does well it’ll be a huge deal for me.” In the meantime, Bennett is happy with the attention Shakti is receiving. “My song, “Dragonfly,” has been getting radio play nationwide and that’s a first for me,” she said. “It’s wonderful! That was the first song I wrote for Shakti, and it really set the tone for the rest of the album. I love that people are into it.”
Will she be touring to promote the new album? “Ah I wish!” she said good-naturedly. “I would love to do a tour of the West Coast – LA, SF/Oakland, Portland, and up to Seattle. It would be fun to do other shows along the way in smaller towns. It’s a lot to try and make happen with bandmates needing to work, but it’ll happen! We’ve talked briefly about heading out to Massachusetts / East Coast cities for a tour next summer 2025. Europe would be incredible, but really touring anywhere in general, would be fabulous.”
What’s Bennett’s favorite thing about making music? “It’s the language of the soul,” she said. “It connects us as human beings. It transcends gender, race, religion, and cultures. As a musician I’m able to bring people together to cultivate healing, joy and connection; not only as a performer but as a teacher. My job is literally to help people express themselves & process their emotions in a healthy way. I love what I do
and feel extraordinarily blessed. It’s an amazing, beautiful life.”
Learn more: www.kristinabennettmusic.com
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