Impressed is proud to present an Australian exclusive - New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised vocalist and transdisciplinary artist Ganavya, with thanks to Leiter.
Hailed by The Wall Street Journal as “among modern music’s most compelling vocalists” – has announced her new album Nilam, set for release on 23 May 2025.
Co-produced by Nils Frahm at Berlin’s renowned Funkhaus complex, it follows Daughter Of A Temple, which was named BBC 6 Music Album of the Year by Gilles Peterson. The New York Times called her “the singer whose work feels like prayer,” while The Guardian included her in their Top 10 Best Global Albums of 2024.
Listening to the remarkable Nilam, it seems implausible now that its inception might ever have been in doubt. Though it was almost never recorded, a few free days between sold-out shows in Berlin and London led LEITER co-founder Felix Grimm to suggest capturing songs Ganavya had long performed live. Joined by her trusted collaborators Max Ridley (bass) and Charles Overton (harp), she entered the studio. The result: a record of quiet power and profound connection.
“I didn’t think we had an album,” Ganavya recalls. “But when I listened back, I realised all the songs were connected.” Nilam—the Tamil word for ‘land’—evokes balance, grounding, and presence. The opening track, ‘Land,’ is inspired by a poem by Palestinian writer Suheir Hammad, whose vision of love as patient and prayerful mirrors the record’s central theme: doing what’s needed to keep going.
Her late grandmother’s guidance—“celebrate the love and joy, even when all you see is chaos”—echoes through songs like ‘Sees Fire,’ written after Ganavya was temporarily banned from a social platform for calling for a ceasefire. The track hides protest in poetic metaphor, a technique rooted in her childhood, when she and her family used music to speak of unspeakable things.
Family plays a central role throughout Nilam. Ganavya’s parents appear on ‘Nine Jeweled Prayer,’ a sacred song they sang together daily across time zones. ‘Not A Burden’ is a secret lullaby for her mother, sung in Tamil for years before its meaning was revealed during a live performance in Berlin. Elsewhere, a rare Tamil harp—the yāzh—appears on ‘Sinathavar Mudikkum’, made possible through a series of uncanny coincidences.
Through grief, joy, protest, and prayer, Nilam becomes both a place and a practice—a sonic landscape of healing, resilience, and connection. As
Ganavya says, “Music has always been the one true land.”
Track List
1. LAND
2. SONG FOR SAD TIMES
3. NOT A BURDEN
4. SINATHAVAR MUDIKKUM
5. NINE JEWELED PRAYER
6. PASAYADAN
7. SEES FIRE
Pressed to black vinyl. Strictly limited to 200 copies.
Exclusively via Impressed in Australia thanks to Leiter.
Available now for pre-order. We'll ship on the 23rd May.
Free shipping Australia wide.