Krishna Das’s latest offering, “Home In The Heart,” is both a deeply introspective return to the roots of devotional practice and a celebration of the spaces where the mysterious and the sacred meet the familiar. In his first full-length album release in 7 years, Krishna Das, true to his persona, walks a path somewhere between the traditional and the experimental. In over 70 minutes of chanting spanning 8 new tracks, he revisits generationally transmitted kirtans, timeless melodies, and mantras handed down from family to family, friend to friend, and devotee to devotee; and introduces new chants melodically steeped in his unmistakable heartfelt blend of American folk, blues, and soul.
This collection feels especially intimate. The arrangements are mostly simple, stripped-down, and austere, providing the perfect vehicle for Krishna Das’s ever-present baritone voice to travel through. His is that familiar voice of the seeker inside all of us, calling out in deep yearning through the Divine Names towards a divinity that is not nameable, and (yet is not different from the Name) across the heart-worn highways of devotion, conjuring greats such as Son House and the Reverend Gary Davis along the way.
For anyone who’s had the opportunity to sing with Krishna, whether online or in person, many of the new tracks will feel wonderfully familiar. The opening track, “Om Sri Sita Ram,” is a traditional bhajan taught to Krishna Das by his dear friend and guru-brother K.K. Sah. Performed in a classic North Indian temple style, it’s a melodic portal to Kainchi Ashram and the surrounding Kumaon Hills where KD spent so much time with Maharaj-ji and Siddhi Ma. “Hanuman Mantra” and “Amitabha Mantra” are spacious, vast, and measured invocations of grace. The latter, a chant to the Buddha of Infinite Light and Compassion, Amitabha Buddha, was transmitted to KD by the great Tibetan master, His Eminence Garchen Rinpoche.
There are some happy surprises here, too. “Yogi Hanuman Chalisa” pulses with a gentle reggae lilt, while “Kalabinashini Ma” reimagines and interweaves two of Krishna Das’s classic melodies into something both fresh and familiar. “Mata Durga” is pure meditation, with violin, cello, and keys supporting KD’s like gentle waves of prayer. “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” is a deeply felt invocation for peace, a reminder of why we chant in the first place – to dedicate the merit of our practice to all beings.
Perhaps the most striking track is “Goddess Come Down,” an original English devotional that evokes the best of 60’s and 70's folk rock. Think Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield, and America. In this, the album’s final track, Krishna Das sings, "There is a mountain where you live in my heart. I'm going to pray and pray every day 'til I make it to the top. Goddess, come down." It's a promise and a prayer. KD may be a reluctant songwriter, but he’s a great one.
Longtime collaborators Arjun Bruggeman, Nina Rao, Mark Egan, David Nichtern, Genevieve Walker, Noah Hoffeld, John McDowell, and Christiaan Oyens lend their skilled, intuitive musicianship throughout. The result is a record that feels lived-in, sincere, and timeless.
Ultimately, “Home In The Heart” is an expertly crafted record, but like all of Krishna Das’s recordings, this offering isn’t so much about performance — it’s about Presence. It invites us to stop, sit down, and begin again — to find, in the Names and in the singing, a place of deep belonging.
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