Starita

A Grammy-winning producer who has worked with Childish Gambino and A Tribe Called Quest is not the most obvious candidate for the kirtan stage — which is precisely what makes Starita worth paying attention to.

Born in Mississippi, Starita built his production career across an unusually wide range of genres, accumulating credits that include a Grammy for Best New Age, a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Latin Urban/Alternative and Song of the Year, a Billboard Top 200 number one, and RIAA Gold certification. His collaborators read less like a yoga playlist and more like a festival lineup: Third Eye Blind, Rebelution, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Madame Gandhi, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Los Amigos Invisibles. The throughline in all of it is an ear for layering — electronic textures over live instrumentation, ambient density alongside rhythmic complexity.

He brings that same sensibility to kirtan. Where many artists in the devotional music space work within a fairly narrow sonic vocabulary, Starita's background in electronic, dance, and classical production means his arrangements have more room in them — more air, more tension, more surprise. The chant traditions are intact; the production choices are not predictable.