Priya Ragu grew up in St. Gallen with Tamil cinema and music filling the house and very little in the world outside that echoed it. Instead of making her choose, that distance taught her to hold both worlds at once, and it has become the thread running through everything she makes. Her debut mixtape was a swirl of culture and colour. Since then, working with her brother and producer Japhna Gold, she has built a sound that mixes Tamil melody with R&B, hip hop and soul without ever settling into one genre.
Three years after Santhosam, she is back with Madras, out November 26. She wrote it across Zurich, Goa, Mumbai, Kerala and Chennai, then recorded it in Chennai, the city that gave the album its name, with local tabla and flute players, string players and a children’s choir. By her own account it is her freest and most joyful record yet. It was made without deadlines or outside pressure, and she says the best ideas arrive when she stops forcing them.
We spoke to Priya about growing up between cultures, the patience she has learned from working with Japhna, and why she isn’t trying to top anything this time. She also told us about the backing vocals she’s quietly proudest of, and the Love Is Blind marathons and tennis games that keep her grounded.
1. You grew up in St. Gallen with Tamil music filling the house and almost nothing around you that reflected it. Looking back now, what do you think that distance gave you that you wouldn’t have got growing up in Chennai or Jaffna?
Growing up, I lived at the intersection of two rich worlds—Swiss culture on the outside, and Tamil culture deeply rooted inside our home. My parents made sure our heritage stayed vibrant; they always spoke to us in Tamil, and our household was completely shaped by Tamil cinema and music. Because the Tamil community in St. Gallen was quite small back then, our gatherings felt incredibly vital. Coming together to share food, music, and stories was a way of holding onto who we were.
Having that physical distance from Chennai or Jaffna actually forced me to navigate and balance both identities intentionally. It allowed me to appreciate my roots in a unique way, and that blending of the quiet Swiss environment with the lively warmth of my Tamil household is exactly what shaped my perspective and made me the person—and artist—I am today.
2. Your sound pulls from Tamil music, R&B, soul and hip hop all at once, and it’s never sat neatly in one place. Was that a deliberate decision early on, or just what came out when you and Japhna started making things together?
It was never a deliberate choice or a calculated strategy. When Japhna and I first started creating music together, he was always the more open, experimental one. He naturally began introducing Tamil elements into our soundscapes, and from that point onward, it just became a natural part of our DNA. We never sit down in the studio and think, ‘We have to merge these two cultures today.’ It happens completely organically based on what we are feeling. In fact, there are some tracks where you might not hear those traditional influences at all—it all just depends on where the music takes us.
3. The album is called Madras, which is the name the city officially left behind decades ago. What made you reach for it, and did you think about how that might land with people who live in Chennai now?
We actually recorded the album in Chennai, and writing the song ‘Madras’ wasn’t planned at all—we didn’t sit down and say, ‘Let’s write a song about Madras.’ It just spilled out in the moment, almost as if the spirit of the city took over.
Once the music was there, naming the album Madras felt like a complete no-brainer. You can heavily hear the elements and soundscapes of Tamil Nadu throughout the record. For us, it’s also a place deeply tied to our childhoods, a city we visited often with our parents that fundamentally shaped who we are. Reaching for that older name brought back an incredible wave of nostalgia. Plus, purely from an aesthetic standpoint, there’s a timeless coolness to the word ‘Madras.’
4. It’s been three years since Santhosam, which is a long gap when your first few years moved as fast as yours did. What did that time actually look like for you, and did any of it change how you came at this record?
I honestly can’t believe it’s already been three years. When you are constantly in a creative headspace, time and space seem to bend, and suddenly you look up and years have passed. But when you break it down, we spent a whole year touring for Santhosam, so it was really only about two years of true downtime.
During that period, I was just living life—traveling, experiencing new things, and soaking everything in. I didn’t want to rush into the next project. I wanted to take my time, let things flow naturally, and only create when I felt truly ready. That space allowed me to approach this record with a very grounded, open mindset.
5. “Finally” felt like a very deliberate way to reintroduce yourself. Where do you think this album sits sonically next to Santhosam and was there anything you were consciously trying to do differently?
I didn’t consciously try to do anything differently. My mindset was simply, ‘Okay, let’s just sit down and make another album.’ The most important thing for me this time around was to have fun and completely shut out any external input or pressure. It was just Japhna and me in India, traveling, writing, and truly taking our time.
We tried to plan things sometimes, like saying, ‘Let’s go to Goa and finish this album in two weeks,’ but then we’d come out of it with only two song ideas. It taught me that you can’t force the creative process.
6. You wrote this across Zurich, Goa, Mumbai, Kerala and Chennai. Do those places turn up in the songs in a way you could point to, or does it all dissolve into one thing by the time a record is finished?
I couldn’t actually point to a song and tell you exactly where it was written. The process was incredibly fluid—sometimes we would start a single sentence of a song in one city, and then finish that same sentence in the next. It was beautifully scattered, but at its core, the soul of this record was born out of that constant movement between India and Switzerland.
7. On Santhosam, the string arrangements were written by a composer in Chennai and then recorded in Budapest. This time you took the whole album to Chennai instead. What made you change that, and what did being there give you?
I really wanted to work directly with the incredible musicians in Chennai—from the tabla players and flute players to the string players and backing vocalists. I wanted that real-time, shared experience in the studio.
For Japhna Gold, arranging string sections wasn’t something he had done before, but he just thought, ‘You know what? I’m going to try it and go all in.’and it turned out super authentic.
8. There’s an orchestra and a children’s choir on this record, which is new ground for you. How did those sessions come together, and what was it like being in a room with that many people playing your songs back at you?
Out of all the recording sessions, that was easily the most exciting part for me. Having the children in the studio, seeing them have so much fun, and watching how fast they picked up the lyrics and melodies was incredible. Sometimes I’d have a sudden burst of inspiration and think, ‘Oh, maybe this new part is too difficult for them to learn on the spot.’ But they picked it up almost instantly. I was completely amazed by their talent. That kind of real-life, one-to-one human connection in the studio is truly worth gold.
9. You and Japhna have worked together for your entire career at this point. What’s shifted between the two of you over the years, and is there anything you’ve had to unlearn about working with each other?
I am naturally a very impatient person. My mindset used to be, ‘Okay, let’s get this done quickly and deliver.’ Japhna is the complete opposite—he is deeply intuitive, goes with the flow, and entirely trusts the process. Working with him over the years, that is the exact trait I’ve had to unlearn and re-learn. With each project we do together, I find myself becoming more and more patient, learning to slow down and let the music breathe.
10. Outside of music, what were you taking in while you made this? Films, books, photographs, anything you kept returning to, and did any of it find its way in?
Outside of the studio, I completely disconnect. My way of grounding myself is surprisingly normal—I’ll just watch Love Is Blind,lol eat junk food, and drift from one coffee shop to another. I also discovered a newfound love for playing tennis, which became a great outlet for me. A lot of my free time during this process was actually spent in Bali. It’s a place that has really evolved into a second home for me, providing the perfect space to just recharge and be.
11. Santhosam got a lot of recognition, which can be an odd thing to follow. Did any of that sit on your shoulder when you started this one, or were you past caring by then?
After wrapping up any project, I always catch myself wondering, ‘How am I going to top this? How do I make something completely new, better, or different?’ But I quickly remind myself that it isn’t about competing with the past. It’s just about being present and creating whatever comes out naturally. Ironically, when you let go of that pressure, the work always evolves, and I truly feel like Madras is my best project so far.
12. This record is being described as your freest and most joyful, and Santhosam had real anger running through it. Do you find joy harder to write than anger, or is it simply where you are at the moment?
I’m actually not sure where the idea of ‘real anger’ running through Santhosam comes from. For me, that project was always centered around finding light, peace, and a sense of justice. It wasn’t born out of anger at all.
That being said, this new record does feel incredibly free and joyful, It’s simply a reflection of where I am in life right now—feeling light, grounded, and letting that natural joy carry the music forward.
13. Is there anything on this album you’re quietly proud of that you suspect nobody will notice? A production choice, a line, something small.
Yes, definitely. I put a massive focus on crafting the backing vocals and vocal layers for most of the songs on this record. I’m incredibly glad I took the time to do it, especially because it felt so effortless. Those harmonies and melodies just poured out of me without needing days of overthinking. I’m deeply proud of how they turned out
14. You’ve spent time in India making this record and you’ve played to crowds here before. What do you make of the independent scene here right now, and is there anyone you’d want to work with?
The independent scene in India is growing so fast right now, and there are so many incredible artists out there absolutely killing it.
As for collaborations, someone I deeply, truly wanted to work with was the legendary composer Deva, but unfortunately, he passed away.
15. You started later than most people do and built it your own way. For someone sitting in a job right now with songs nobody has heard, what would you actually tell them?
I would tell them: just put it out there while you are working on the next thing, and have absolutely no expectations. Don’t wait for the perfect moment or overthink how people will react.
