Love Always

Coming almost two decades after ‘Eternity Is Now’, Maraiya’s stunning new musical release, ‘Love Always’, is a meticulously woven and richly varied tapestry of heartfelt ballads and uplifting rhythms, intimate, jazz-inspired meditations, and poignantly beautiful songs of longing.

Maraiya’s inspiration is drawn from a melding of worldly experience and inner revelation. Through her evocative melodies we journey with her to New York City in ‘88 Grove Street’; Prague, Oklahoma, in ‘Heartland Interlude’; Meherazad Garden in ‘Mehera's Prayer’ (words by Mehera); and Meherabad in ‘Amartithi Waltz’ and ‘Harim Bina’ (one of Baba’s early ghazals). In ‘Je T’adore’, ‘Be Still My Heart’, ‘Hold On’ and ‘I Rose in Love With You’ we share the seeker’s joy and trials in discovering and honoring that Love which knows no boundaries.

Accompanying herself on acoustic guitar and piano, Maraiya sings in her native French, and in Spanish, English, and Urdu/Hindi. She is joined by a carefully chosen assemblage of dedicated musicians, each elevating the compositions with his or her own creative signature—Patrick O’Neil on cello, Katie Rust on trumpet, John Ware on acoustic and electric guitar, Al Payton on bass, Stevie Martinez on upright bass and bass, and Cliff Hackford on tabla, drums, and percussion.

Produced by Cliff Hackford, the recording’s lush, richly-layered sound enhances the listener’s experience of shared intimacy with Maraiya’s enchanting evocation of the lover/Beloved relationship.

Produced 2020