Donna De Lory - In The Glow (2003)

With IN THE GLOW, singer Donna De Lory--best known as a back-up singer for Madonna--began to cast off her stylistic association with mainstream pop. While solo efforts like BLISS showed De Lory's skill with the pop formula, IN THE GLOW is a different kettle of fish entirely. A practitioner of yoga and a fan of Kirtan music, De Lory decided to record an album influenced by devotional chants. While "Govinda Jaya Jaya" is the only strictly traditional mantra here, the tones and phrasing throughout, and the presence of instruments like harmonium, tabla, and tamboura, gives the album a deeply meditative feel.
The opening track "One Day," for example, which features a harmonium and vocal duet, has an air of intimacy and personal confession impossible to ignore. The mix of Indian modalities and pop-influenced groove on songs like "Unbound," and "Glow" are perfect examples of the album's unusual and highly appealing fusion. Lyrics about surrender, acceptance, and salvation through God's love weight the album with spiritual import, and De Lory's earthy/ethereal voice is particularly well suited to these experiments.