How Madame Gandhi collaborated with Mother Nature for her latest album
The musician traveled to Antarctica to sample and take raw field recordings from the natural world for her latest project, "Let Me Be Water"
Madame Gandhi's newest album "Let Me Be Water" dropped on May 16.
Lindsey Byrnes
Words by Anjana Pawa
On May 16, the day her new album Let Me Be Water dropped, Madame Gandhi wasn’t just celebrating its release, she was marking the culmination of years of inspiration, collaboration, and intention. Born Kiran Gandhi, and now creating under the nom de plume of Madame Gandhi, the award-winning artist has been a performing musician for more than a decade, collecting some of the music industry’s highest accolades, including awards at SXSW and being on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list, and touring with prolific artists. But in 2015, she began making her own music and telling her own story, which has led up to her most expensive project yet, both in sound and spirit.
Built with the help of a village, Let Me Be Water blends songs, speeches, and meditations into something that feels less like a traditional album and more like a guided journey. Gandhi brings a gentle but powerful presence to each track, often repeating short, mantra-like lyrics that invite the listener to slow down, breathe, and reconnect.
Madame Gandhi's new album blends songs, speeches, and meditations into something that feels less like a traditional album and more like a guided journey.
Lindsey Byrnes
And Mother Nature isn’t simply the inspiration for this album, she’s Gandhi’s most intimate collaborator. Embedded within these tracks are actual sounds from the Earth, recorded and turned into smooth, silky, sonic tones, a skill she learned while pursuing a master’s degree in music technology from Stanford University.
She used tools like underwater microphones, to sample and take raw field recordings of nature from a trip she took to Antarctica and turned them into something both sonically rich and deeply grounding. “The planet is incredible,” Gandhi tells JoySauce. “And we can actually use technology to bring us back to it.” In addition, Gandhi partnered with London-based music climate organization, Earth Percent, on the album's lead single to direct a portion of music streaming royalties back to planetary conservation.
On the day Let Me Be Water was released, Gandhi caught up with us to talk about the journey behind it, from glacial beats to mantra-making, and everything in between.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Anjana Pawa: Happy release day! I’d love for you to tell me about yourself—a little about your career, how you got here, and the pivotal moments that led to this album release.
Madame Gandhi: I’ve always loved music, dancing, and going to shows. When I was younger, I played piano, choreographed dances, sang. But I think my real love for music, and the realization that I could be a performer myself, came when I started learning drums. I was 11 years old at summer camp and really took to it. I was supported by my school and family, and drummed throughout my teens. It gave me a lot of confidence and personal power.
I think career highlights include drumming for M.I.A. as her tour drummer. I was also one of the first digital analysts at Interscope Records, which was my first job out of college. That was pivotal—Spotify had just launched in the U.S., and I was doing formative digital analytics work.
That job really shaped how I’ve been able to manage my own music. It gave me an entrepreneurial understanding of the music industry that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.
AP: These experiences—drumming for M.I.A., working in the industry—how have they shaped you now that you’re a front-facing artist? What are some real shifts you’ve felt, whether personal or existential, as you’ve moved from supplementing others’ work to creating your own?
MG: I think you picked up on something important just by asking that. After I wrapped the tour with M.I.A., I realized I could continue down the path of being a career drummer for others—but I wouldn’t get to express my own ideas.
I got lucky. I didn’t just decide to start an artist career and then hustle for gigs. I was already being invited to speak and perform, even though I had no music of my own yet. It was this hybrid of being asked to share my voice and ideas. I felt lucky, and I understood the value of being brave enough to say yes. That made all the difference.
AP: Your album, Let Me Be Water, is especially cool. It’s mixed media—a combination of speeches, meditations, and music. And it involved a whole community.
MG: Yes! This is the first time I’ve done it at this level. It took a village: it came together with 40 different young women and gender-expansive songwriters. It was just the coolest thing to work with 40 people and give them credit on the album. That’s a huge honor. We all need to take others with us on the journey rather than trying to get ahead alone.
A career highlight for Madame Gandhi was drumming for M.I.A.
Lindsey Byrnes
AP: There was so much heart, soul, and care that went into this album. The concept is layered: it includes natural sounds, supports conservation, and you even went to Antarctica to sample sounds of nature. Can you talk about your trip to Antarctica and what it means to use Mother Earth as a collaborator?
MG: I have two master’s degrees, my second one from Stanford’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics. There, during the first week, they taught us how to build underwater microphones and record whale sounds in Monterey Bay. That experience changed my life. I thought, “The planet is incredible, nature is incredible.” And we can actually use technology to bring us back to nature, a problem technology itself has helped create through the destruction of the planet.
Being both a music technologist and a musician is a gift. We get to use our hearts, melodies, and magic to bring people closer to the source rather than feeling separate from it. In Antarctica, we micro-sampled glacier tones to create basslines and beats. We included raw water sounds as-is. So when you ask what it means to sample nature sounds, it’s about finding beauty in those recordings and using them tastefully in the music.
AP: What do you hope listeners take away after hearing Let Me Be Water all the way through?
MG: The album is really, by design, a journey. I think they should feel motivated. I definitely think one of my gifts as a Pisces is being a Tony Robbins–style motivator, but for the feminine spirit. And it’s by the feminine spirit, for all. So what I hope people take away is, “Oh, this is so refreshing. What a wonderful opportunity to fall in love with the planet, fall in love with myself, realize my power.”
AP: Is there anything that you're currently listening to that you're inspired by, whether that's sonically or spiritually, that’s getting you closer to Mother Earth?
MG: I just came back from a trip to Rishikesh in India, so listening to mantras is a huge inspiration for me. A friend of mine and kirtan leader, Radhika Das, I really love listening to recordings of his live kirtans and chanting, because it is essentially what I’m trying to do with my own music—which is having these really simple lyrics that people can sing back. In the album, those are mantras like, “Take your time,” “let me be water,” “rise,” literally just the simplest of lyrics, so people can have mantras in their day-to-day life.
AP: How do you care for yourself when you're doing work that's emotionally intense and creatively demanding?
MG: My friends make fun of me for how well I take care of myself. I sleep early, I don’t drink alcohol, I eat plant-based, I run. When I’m traveling, I really take it easy. I go to the gym every day. I’m constantly aware of my health. It’s all about trying to understand your body, rather than just adopt a modality and let it exist. Move it in the ways it can.
Published on July 1, 2025
Words by Anjana Pawa
Anjana Pawa is a Brooklyn-based culture reporter who regularly covers music, entertainment and beauty. You can find her on Twitter at @apawawrites.