On Wednesday April 24, Swiss-Tamil artist Priya Ragu graced Night and Day Cafe with her headline tour ‘Roads to Santhosam’. Released last October, her album Santhosam (meaning happiness in Tamil) is an enigmatic fusion of Tamil folk, rap, and R&B, all of which blend together to create a unique musical journey. The album itself explores a multitude of themes which are embedded into her identity as an artist: growing up as the daughter of Sri Lankan refugees, police brutality, and familial expectations to name a few.
The orange and purple walls of Night and Day welcomed the sold-out audience. Walking in, Chandé’s lively DJ set reverberated around the room, mixing techno and percussive club with South Asian blends. Chandé ignited the energy which would pulse through the room for the rest of the night. Heads were bopping whilst drinks were being bought; he is definitely one to look out for.
After Chandé’s set was finished, the crowd waited eagerly underneath the floral ceiling decorations. Rich red and purple lighting bounced off the disco ball as the pre-show playlist died down, letting us know it was nearly time to dance. Lots of cheers accompanied Priya’s band onto the stage. Japhna Gold, producer, artist, and her brother, greeted us by asking if we could all close our eyes. It was a purely euphoric moment as the musicians transported us to Sri Lanka with a mix of traditional instruments. Each pocket of Night and Day was filled with the tranquil sounds of traditional bamboo woodwind instruments like the bansuri as well as string instruments like the Ravanahatha. At least for me, it was as if any anxieties or stress from the day were cleansed in a truly magical wash of Tamil culture.
When we opened our eyes, we were met with the charming smile of Priya as she entered the stage to Santhosam’s opening track ‘School Me Like That’. Lively bongo percussion bounced around lyrics that detailed breaking expectations of school, family and work to instead “wake up to things I really wanna do.” The empowering song lifted our arms into the air and loosed our hips, setting the precedent for the rest of the gig.
Heavier synths emerged into the next song ‘Vacation’. Through effortlessly cool sunglasses, Priya’s lyrics “Like birds do, I need to fly south” I am sure resonated with everyone in the sun-deprived Mancunian audience. ‘Good Love 2.0’, Priya’s debut single, followed. With a remix by Honey Dijon and a feature on the FIFA 21 soundtrack, her performance didn’t fail to be a crowd favourite.
Speaking to the audience after some more R&B-infused tracks, Ragu spoke to the considerably sweatier crowd. “I want you to remember, where there is pain, power is close,” introduced us to the next song, titled ‘Power’. The band joined Priya in raising her fist, with Japhna Gold encouraging the crowd to do so too. The mix of percussion and keys changed the tone of the gig from vibrant and colourful to more ominous, matching the lyrics: “Don’t you underestimate me.” Ragu also intertwined Tamil lyrics into the song, which translated to “If you catch me, it’s a curse.” The empowering performance accentuated the track which is rich in self-actualisation.
Dancing resumed swiftly when the opening bassline of ‘Adalam Va!’ was played. Priya encouraged us all to “Jump! Jump! Jump!” just before she and Japhna Gold both rapped “Step by steppa/ Praise the Lord, that’s Skepta.” The energy only got more electric when Priya stepped into the crowd, grooving with the audience. The audience parted in a Red Sea-esque moment to let her get to the back of the crowd. It was a special artist-and-audience moment that really connected us with her music.
Her brother started chanting “Go Priya, go Priya, go!” and we all followed suit as she danced her way back to the stage. Seeing his sister produce so many smiles is a moment I am sure he felt immense pride in. A deep dive into Ragu’s Instagram details how Japhna was the first of the two to tell their mother that he wanted to be a musician, to which she almost fainted. Seeing how electric their creativity is on stage, I have no doubt that she might have come around to the idea. Japhna reiterated the message of Santhosam to us as Priya got back on stage: “All we want to do is spread happiness around the world.” If the world is Night and Day Café, they definitely succeeded.
The walls of Night and Day vibrated with animated basslines and Tamil dance fusions as the gig continued. Open palms reached to the ceiling accompanying the catchy lyrics “Dance like we don’t care/ Hands in the air” in her addictive ‘One Way Ticket’. Her vocals were ethereal alongside the pulsating rhythm of the track. The lyrics “Boogie through the night ‘cause this the anthem” perfectly encapsulates the song. Night and Day was certainly moving.
The band then stilled the crowd as they asked us to put peace signs high into the air, allowing us to catch our breath. Priya stood high above us as she chanted “Free, Free Palestine!”, to which we echoed. In that moment, 250 voices united on Oldham Street, all for humanity. Fast drums beat alongside us as our chanting transitioned into ‘Black Goose’, written and Produced by Japhna. “Shoot, Shoot, Shoot” bounced around the walls, hyping up the crowd. ‘Black Goose’ was inspired by the murder of George Floyd in 2020. Priya wrote on Instagram that the “ruthless killings of innocent black people hurt our souls. As Tamil people who had to flee their homes due to genocide… we feel their pain and stand with them.” This is certainly explicit in the lyrics “Officer don’t shoot, I got so much shit to do/ Got to get back to my family, plus rent is overdue.”
Priya followed this with the emotional reprise of ‘Let Me Breathe’. Whilst rhythmically the reprise is the antithesis of ‘Black Goose’, its lyricism has the same political punch. The slow track features delicate guitar and hypnotic vocals, allowing her pleading lyrics “God let them breathe” to reverb within us.
The gig ended with ‘Chicken Lemon Rice’, an upbeat finale to a gig infused with dancing and emotion. Priya and her band reached into the audience, connecting with fans and expressing gratitude for their energy. As they took a final bow, the crowd erupted with applause, injecting the band with passion and gratitude for the hour we all spent in their electric company. One thing is for certain, Priya Ragu knows how to make people move.
