Background
editMadonna began working on Ray of Light in May 1997, meeting with Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, whom she had previously worked with on her 1994 album Bedtime Stories. The two wrote a couple of songs together before Madonna decided the collaborations were not going in the musical direction she wanted for the album.[1] After abandoning the songs she had written with Edmonds, Madonna turned to musician Rick Nowels, who had previously co-written songs with Stevie Nicks and Celine Dion. The collaboration produced seven songs in three days, but did not display the album's future electronic musical direction. Instead, Madonna took her collaborations with Nowels and Leonard to British electronic music musician William Orbit. Madonna had been a fan of Orbit's work, and loved the "sort of trancy, ambient quality" he gave to the songs he worked on.[2] Then, Madonna wrote and produced several songs with Orbit for Ray of Light,[2] including "Shanti/Ashtangi". The lyrics of the song are adapted from text by Shankaracharya, taken from the Yoga Taravali. Additional translation for the song was done by Vyass Houston and Eddie Stern.[3] When asked about "Shanti/Ashtangi" and "Sky Fits Heaven" in an interview with magazine Spin, and how both songs were related to her spiritual life, Madonna revealed:
"I feel that talking about it trivializes it. I've been studying the Cabala, which is the mystical interpretation of the Torah. I've studied Buddhism and Hinduism and I've been practicing yoga and obviously I know a lot about Catholicism. There are indisputable truths that connect all of them, and I find that very comforting and kind. My spiritual journey is to be open to everything. Pay attention to what makes sense, be absorbed. For me, yoga is the closes thing to our real nature."[1]
Composition
edit"Shanti/Ashtangi" is a Hindu Sanskrit prayer, sung by Madonna with an Indian accent over a driving dance rhythm.[4][5] The techno dance track features Madonna singing the adapted version of Shankaracharya entirely in Sanskrit, with lines such as "Vunde gurunam caranaravinde / Sandarsita svatma sukhavabodhe".[6][7]
Notes
edit- ^ a b Walter, Barry (April 1998). "Most Daring in Years". Spin. Spin Media LLC. ISSN 0886-3032.
- ^ a b Anderson, Gina (1998). "Mystic Eyes". Juice. Piranha Media GmbH. ISSN 98641.
{{cite journal}}: Check|issn=value (help) - ^ Ray of Light (Media notes). Maverick Records. 1998.
{{cite AV media notes}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|artist=ignored (|others=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|publisherid=ignored (help) - ^ "Revolutions: Madonna's "Ray of Light"". Vibe. 6 (3). Vibe Media Group: 196. 1998. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
- ^ "Revolutions: Madonna's "Ray of Light"". Vibe. 6 (8). Vibe Media Group: 184. 1998. ISSN 1070-4701. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
- ^ DeRogartis 2003, p. 398
- ^ Gopinath 2005, p. 28
References
edit- DeRogartis, Jim (2003). Turn on your mind: four decades of great psychedelic rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9780634055485.
- Gopinath, Gayatri (2005). Impossible desires: queer diasporas and South Asian public cultures. Duke University Press. ISBN 9780822335139.