From Punk Rock Rebellion to Sacred Sound: Ananda Xenia Shakti Finds a New Kind of Freedom With “Devotion”
By Rachel Donovan
Few musical journeys travel as far, geographically, spiritually or creatively, as that of Ananda Xenia Shakti. Her story stretches from the explosive punk clubs of the late 1970s to yoga, meditation and the sacred landscapes of India. Yet beneath those dramatically different chapters runs a surprisingly consistent thread: the search for freedom.
Today, Ananda channels that search through Love Power the Band, creating music that blends devotional traditions, mantra, world influences and contemporary production with an emphasis on healing, connection and what she calls the “Festival of Life.” Her latest single, “Devotion,” may be one of the clearest expressions yet of the philosophy she has spent decades developing.
Long before Love Power the Band, she was known as Xenia Holliday, a founding member of pioneering all-female punk group The B-Girls. After emerging from Toronto’s late-’70s scene, the group relocated to New York, performed at clubs including CBGB and toured with The Clash. Ananda also contributed backing vocals to Blondie’s AutoAmerican album and recordings by Stiv Bators.
It was an extraordinary introduction to professional music, but success ultimately wasn’t enough.
While living in New York, Ananda experienced a spiritual awakening that changed the direction of her life. With The B-Girls seemingly poised for another step forward professionally, she made the difficult decision to leave. Yoga, meditation and spiritual exploration became increasingly important, eventually leading her toward a life in which music would return with an entirely different purpose.
On the surface, the transformation from punk musician to yogini might look like a rejection of her past. Ananda sees a connection instead. Punk had offered a way of breaking through convention and searching for authentic expression. Spiritual practice turned that same impulse inward.
Love Power the Band grew from that philosophy. Rather than maintaining a rigid separation between performer and audience, the group has described its concerts as “Interactive Music,” encouraging people to sing, move and participate until the conventional boundaries of a performance begin to disappear.
With “Devotion,” released July 29th, Ananda takes that desire for connection into an especially intimate space.
The song was born during a silent meditation retreat in the mountains of Andhra Pradesh, India. During the night, Ananda became physically ill and found herself unable to meditate as intended. Instead of continuing to struggle against the discomfort, she began quietly singing the names of Radha and Krishna.
A melody emerged.
Over the following hours, the experience developed around the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra. While her body remained uncomfortable, Ananda experienced something strikingly different internally: a growing sense of peace, love and expansion. What began as an attempt to comfort herself became a song.
That origin explains why “Devotion” doesn’t sound as though it was constructed according to the usual pop-song blueprint. Repetition is central to its character, while space and atmosphere are allowed to become part of the composition. Love Power the Band surrounds Ananda’s voice without overwhelming it, allowing the music to function as an immersive experience rather than a vehicle racing toward the next hook.
There is an intimacy to Ananda’s performance that reinforces the song’s origins. She isn’t singing as though trying to demonstrate vocal power. Instead, the performance often feels like an invitation into a private moment of prayer.
That quality carried directly into the recording process. After the retreat, Ananda returned to a studio in India and recreated the song with her recording engineer in a single take. She has described the experience as less like deliberately creating a piece of music than receiving something, a “transmission” or “prayer.”
“Devotion” therefore becomes more than another chapter in Ananda’s spiritual catalog. It offers a concise expression of an idea that has increasingly defined her work: difficulty and beauty don’t necessarily exist on opposite sides of an experience.
The song was born from discomfort, but it doesn’t dwell there. Instead, it searches for what might be revealed through surrender.
That message also distinguishes Ananda’s music within a culture where spirituality can easily be reduced to lifestyle branding. Her perspective comes from decades of practice, beginning with the awakening that pulled her away from the trajectory of The B-Girls and eventually taking her through yoga, teaching, meditation and extended spiritual exploration.
And music never stopped being part of the equation.
In fact, it may be the bridge connecting every version of Ananda Xenia Shakti. The young musician who found liberation in punk and the spiritual artist singing mantras in India aren’t necessarily opposites. Both are interested in breaking through limitation. Both treat music as a way of reaching something more authentic than ordinary social conditioning allows.
The difference is where the rebellion is directed.
Once, it was aimed outward.
With “Devotion,” Ananda turns inward, toward the noise, fear and resistance that can prevent stillness from taking hold. The resulting recording doesn’t demand that listeners share her beliefs. Its invitation is considerably simpler: become quiet, remain present and see what happens.
For Ananda Xenia Shakti and Love Power the Band, that may be the most radical kind of freedom yet.
