Prophone and Naxos Sweden are proud to present Adi Shakti, the third studio album by singer, pianist and composer Vidya-Liselotte Sundberg, known widely as ‘Vidya’. Building on the sentiment of her second album Papillon, Adi Shakti draws upon Vidya’s experience of having searched for, found, then lost her biological Indian mother, followed by the death of her adopted Swedish mother in 2022. The Hindu mantra ‘Adi Shakti’ means ‘Primal Power’, and it was this alongside an extremely moving poem by the 13th century Persian scholar and mystic Rumi that inspired her new music.

“Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing there is a field, I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down on that grass the world is too full to talk about” - Rumi

Adi Shakti means ‘Primal Power’ and connects humanity to the vast and infinite divine source inside. The mantra is feminine to its aspect and when chanting the words, it merges the material world into the life giving motherly-energy, that creates all things. Vidya felt that the mantra and the poem harmonize well together, as they are both implying there’s a place beyond all our knowing, where a new world is available. Her new music came to be inspired from this. Speaking about the concept of her new album, Vidya says: “I discovered the Rumi poem in my twenties and after that it circulated in my memory for many years. After experiencing great loss by losing my two mothers, the poem suddenly came back to me in an instant flash. I realised this field is actually a space of freedom…The Adi Shakta mantra keeps the door open to it and from that discovery music started to pour out...”

Born in Pune and raised in Gavle, Vidya developed her musical prowess at The University of Gothenburg, eventually cultivating a unique style that respected publication Hymn describes as “Genre Free”. This atypical creative journey eventually led to Vidya’s debut album Peace Play, which received a range of complimentary reviews in Swedish music magazines and Dagens Nyheter, the countries biggest and most respected newspaper. Her second album Papillon went on to achieve international acclaim, also being nominated for ‘The Manifest Prize’. Now with Adi Shakti, her very best work to date, Vidya is able to build on a solid foundation with which to gain further global recognition.

Adi Shakti also features the exceptionally creative musicians Rob Luft on guitar, Magnus Bergstrom on bass, Jon Falt on drums and additional vocals from Lisa Rydberg, resulting in an exciting quintet of musicians who’s dynamic synergy very much shines through on the recording. Speaking about working with Vidya, guitarist Rob Luft says: “Co-composing a piece with Vidya and playing on this album was a real pleasure and a privilege. She’s a hugely talented singer-songwriter and I particularly love the way in which she has given each player huge amounts of musical freedom on this record. There’s ample space for master improvisers Jon Fält & Magnus Bergström to create inventive Nordic jazz textures and rocky grooves, and my own musical voice is ever-present from start to finish.”

Vidya hopes that her new work will inspire all those who listen.

Vidya is born in Pune, (India) and grew up in Gävle (Sweden). She is a playful and strongly intuitive singer/pianist/composer/producer. In Vidya’s music the listener get to meet the truth in her voice and a pulsating now. She is a prestigeless musician, guided by a feeling of freedom when singing and playing.. Her music often appears in her dreams... Vidya is educated at the Music University of Gothenburg and her first album Peace Play (2011), received great reviews from several Swedish magazines. Amongst them being Dagens Nyheter - Swedens biggest and most respected newspaper. Her second album The Papillon- (2022) was also very well received and reviewed as, "Satisfying on every level" (All about Jazz) "Genre free” (Hymn) "An original voice in the Swedish music with exciting compositions" (Salt Peanuts) The songs from The papillon has appeared on national, as well as international radio. The Papillon was also nominated for ”The Manifest Prize” which is the independent version of the Swedish Grammis, where she also performed live. Vidya has also collaborated with acoustic bass player Georg Riedel.

VIDYA website click here