It was wonderful to discover this music when I started yoga classes years ago. Most of what my yoga teachers have played has been American bhaktas, like Deva Premal and Krishna Das. There's even a hip-hop guy with titles like "Rock on Hanuman" and "Ganesh is fresh" I like Deva Premal in a general way. Specific songs (or mantras?) that I've hit the repeat button on sometimes include Ajeet Kaur's Narayan Shabd and Das's "Sri Ram Chalisa" (actually the Hanuman chalisa with a Sri Ram chorus). The latter has the refreshing contrast of Das's baritone and the "ever changing cosmic kirtan posse "
Personally, I much prefer the Indian traditional bhajan singers. My favorite singer, by far, was Murugadas. Such heart and soul. I don't really like the accompanying music so often found in the west. But its all just taste. If it makes an individual think of God, or more inner, so much the better.
Probably due to my background of enjoying Anglo/American and European pop/rock music, and Western jazz and classical, that makes the artists mentioned more accessible. For those who like these genres they do a good job of putting the pop chord changes with the sacred verses. Of course this poppish kirtan is sort of foreign to the original music. I was actually hoping for answers mentioning names I could look up to expand my horizons, so thanks for the mention of Murugadas. (edit:corrected spelling)
MS Subbulakshmi is really good too. Actually, there are tons. I think something is lost when a singer puts their own spin on traditional mantras. Don't get me going on pronunciation.
