MUMBAI: Music and spirituality co-exist; musicians and singers need to have spirituality in them to excel in music, says  Ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas. Padmashree singer has given his mellifluous voice in a latest album ‘Hey Krishna’ which is his first album dedicated to Lord Krishna, offering a mix of seven modern bhajans.

“Devotional songs are very personal so I never sing devotional music with a commercial perceptive. I can never think of devotional music and commerce together,”Udhas tells Radioandmusic.com.

He further adds,“Barring the current music genres, when we talk about music in any form be it  Indian classical or  International classical music it should create a feel of spirituality. Every artist need to have that spirituality in them. One should be spiritual in heart for the words to flow.”

He adds, “Music is spiritual because of the way it is sung and also due to its lyrics.”

Udhas is an iconic Ghazal singer who has dedicated over 30 years to Ghazals and devotional songs in an era things were not very easy. “For me religion is only one and music is my religion. Music has magic and can take one completely to trance. Music conveys a lot it can heal broken heart with its spiritual touch.

His latest devotional offering will have a mix of temporary and traditional lyrics along with unusual musical back-up and melody. The bhajans is composed by Sudhakar Mishra, Narayan Agrawal and traditional Meera bhajans. Kartik Udhas, the young music arranger from UK has adopted a different musical approach to this album. The music is out on Times music.