Belinda Carlisle

I was asked to call a hotel room in Manchester, UK and ask for Ms. Lincoln. I was transferred through reception and asked my name before being transferred, and Belinda duly answered.

The sun was shining in Manchester that morning, which it doesn’t always do. Rain tends to permeate the weather there a lot.

Belinda Carlisle was on her 30th anniversary of “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” tour of the UK, but the bigger news was that Spirit Voyage released her latest album, Wilder Shores!

Raised in Southern California, Belinda Jo Carlisle began her music career in 1977 as the drummer of the Los Angeles punk band the Germs and went on to join the Go-Go's as the lead singer after the band's formation in 1978. With their chart-topping debut release Beauty and the Beat in 1981, the group helped popularize new wave music in the United States and were the first all-female band in history who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to achieve a No. 1 album. The Go-Go's have sold over 7 million records worldwide.

After the dissolution of the Go-Go's in 1985, Carlisle went on to have a successful solo career with radio hits such as "Mad About You," "I Get Weak," "Circle in the Sand," "Leave a Light On" and "Heaven Is a Place on Earth," among others, which were major successes in the United States, United Kingdom and internationally as well. Her autobiography, Lips Unsealed, published in June 2010, was a New York Times Best Seller and received favourable reviews. On August 11, 2011, as a member of the Go-Go's, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

What an album this is, having hit the number one on the iTunes World Music Chart and well-ranked on a variety of other platforms. There are nine tracks in which Belinda combines pop melodies and her iconic voice with Kundalini mantras, along with a new 30th anniversary acoustic version of her classic song “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.”

So, why this new mantra album? Belinda’s Kundalini journey dates back to a difficult pregnancy. She had a profound experience in India with her teacher Gurmukh and has been a regular practitioner ever since. Belinda, like many others, has found her spiritual path through Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan.

While Belinda is now chanting mantra with artists like Simrit, who she describes as “so punk rock,” her story began in Hollywood in the late 70s as a drummer for a punk band at the tender age of 17. She left the entertainment scene after falling ill, but came back as the lead vocalist of the Go Go’s. Success followed for the all-girl band, selling millions of albums and touring the world.

After the Go Go’s split up, Belinda’s solo career really took off in a big way. She experienced global success as a solo artist before being dropped by her record label at the age of 40. During this time of her life, she began reading a variety of spiritual books, including The Buddha in Your Mirror, that complemented her practice of Kundalini and Naad yoga.

After years of practice and spiritual inquiry, Belinda knew she wanted to create an album that featured mantra. Wilder Shores is five years in the making, and she had to overcome some resistance in order to release the album to the masses. And what a debut mantra album this is!

“Light of my Soul” is a special track amongst many. Belinda would go to her Kundalini class each morning before going into the studio to record. This track was written in around 90 seconds, recorded into her iPhone as she was driving off the freeway, guided by the divine.

A powerful album from the very first note to the last. The energy of the room changes as the music progresses. It is her hope that it introduces a new audience to chanting, and that can only be a positive thing. This album is a truly a sumptuous feast and a joy to behold!