PRIYA RAGU

SINGER

Priya’s career has undermined stereotypes at every turn. She has achieved breakout success in her mid-thirties. She freely incorporates Tamil lyrics into her songs, sometimes even for the whole track. And her chosen producer, Japhna Gold, is her brother – with whom she has managed to shape an entirely new genre they’ve dubbed ‘Ragu-wavy’.

Priya grew up performing songs at local Tamil community events in Switzerland, but her parents refused to let her pursue music professionally as she got older. So she began to practice secretly by herself, even continuing to record music on the side after landing a job with Swiss International Airlines. Finally at 30, she quit and moved to New York to focus on her music – finding an unexpected collaborator in her brother, with whom she began collaborating with over Skype. damnshestamil, Priya’s resulting debut mixtape, went on to be spotlighted by the likes of Vogue India, iD, NME and The Line Of Best Fit. She also performed on BBC Future Sounds, before going on to sign a record deal with none other than Warner Music. 

Priya now stands as one of the few South Asian artists after M.I.A. to successfully break into Western music charts. She also recently completed her first European tour, performing onstage in Switzerland, Germany and France.