Prem and Jethro of Sacred Earth are one of Australia’s musical success stories.
Built on the back of hundreds of gigs, this husband-and-wife duo create music that is balm for the spirit.
‘We have been established for a long time and we have done the hard yards. We have a strong connection anywhere we go in Australia. We just had a sold-out show in Melbourne and then a workshop of more than 100 people,’ says Jethro.
‘When we first started to get into mantra there was this perception that you were a bit of a weirdo and wore orange and lived in the hills. But we didn’t have to worry about it so much. We had absolutely no idea how it was going to go.
We sat down for our first-ever expression of our music thinking. I had no idea how this would be received; we sold a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of albums the first time and they were so grateful.
I think there were a lot of people who privately had been following this sort of music; there wasn’t this awareness there is now, and people genuinely connected with us. I think it was easy for them because we’re not affiliated with any group or entity.’
Evolution is key for Sacred Earth. ‘We have been though some big evolutions in the last few years. We have celtic harpist Kate B playing with us; and then there is a real deepening, almost like a coming-of-age thing – we are at ease in what we are doing, and at rest in what we are doing, and from that there is a lot more depth and space. We have a lot of new music.’
Don’t go to a Sacred Earth Music concert expecting the same mantras you might here at a yoga kirtan night.
‘Nothing we do is traditional,’ says Jethro.
‘It is really a contemporary version – kirtan- or mantra-inspired music; it’s about the opening of the heart and vibrating on the joy of singing.
‘A lot of people think our music is yoga oriented. Music transcends everything – you don’t need to be able to do yoga to understand music. You have people who do yoga and meditate who come to our concerts, or you have people who have been through some level of crisis and the music has been a balm that gets them back to a level of peace. A lot of people who have been through depression and grief come to our shows.
We have had ex-soldiers who come up and say that they found this on the plane on the way back from Iraq. Our music brings people a sense of inner peace.’
Sacred Earth plays at the Byron Theatre at the Community Centre on Saturday at 7.30pm. Tickets and information at byroncentre.com.au.
