Go-Ray & Duke - "Spirits in the Material World"
Written by Sting and published by EMI Blackwood Music Inc, BMI
The Yoga Sessions: Go-Ray & Duke (Yoga Organix, 2011)

This track features Go-Ray on vocals, Sanket Naik on tabla, and Bashir Khan on Bulbul Tarang.

 

"When Duke and I started creating the first song for our self-titled record on The Yoga Sessions, it was accidental alchemy. We found that we both had the same interest in grounded, devotional groove. Slowly, I selected texts from my experiences with Indian music, and we cultivated each groove—the melodies grew organically. When we realized that we had no song in English on the record, we simultaneously suggested a Police cover, and there was no debate about which one—this song seems even more immediate and poignant than it was in 1981. Those who taught me the most about music would often slow down a song or melody in order to better feel its nuances and mood: when I want to learn someone else's song, the first thing I do is slow it down, breathe with it, and see what I find inside. This melody emerged spontaneously. I had the honor of personally sharing it with Sting, who confided that he has this track in his yoga playlist."—G.-R.

Photo: Geetika Agrawal

Photo: Geetika Agrawal