We spoke with Rina Rain about “Whispers of Rain” and more!

Q: Hi! When you were first putting Whispers of Rain together, what did you want people to feel before they even understood the words?
A: Hi! Thank you for having me. Before anything else, I wanted people to feel calm, safe, and held. I wanted the mantras to feel like a loving voice whispering gently into their ears that all is well and that they are not alone in this journey.
That is also what mantras became for me personally. I have always found them deeply soothing and comforting, especially during moments when I needed grounding the most. Even before understanding the words, I hope listeners can feel compassion, softness, and trust moving through the music.

Q: This album has such a calm, grounding energy. Was there a moment in your own life when you realized this was the kind of music you needed to make?
A: If someone had told me years ago that I would become a mantra artist, I would have dismissed the idea immediately. Even though I had listened to mantras daily for decades, mantra singing truly found me during one of the most challenging periods of my life, when I was searching for refuge and relief.
There was a time when chanting mantras was the only thing that brought peace to my body, mind, and soul. I would retreat into my garage studio and let my voice follow whatever mantras were playing through my speakers, and I felt a kind of release that nothing else could offer at the time. Even meditation itself was not helping me in the same way.
The first idea to record a mantra felt almost impossible and far outside of who I believed myself to be. But the inner pull kept growing stronger until eventually I walked into a recording studio and decided to record just one mantra. Two weeks later, I walked away with seven recorded tracks.
At first, I never intended to release the music publicly. But after sharing the recordings with friends and family, they immediately asked for copies. That was when I realized these mantras were not only meant for me — they were meant to be shared.

Q: You’ve spent so much time guiding people through mindfulness and healing work. How did that part of your life naturally spill into these songs?
A: Every experience we have in life quietly builds upon the last and shapes who we become. My mindfulness and healing work naturally became part of everything I create because those practices are deeply woven into my life and inner world.
Mantras and meditations feel like one of the purest ways for me to express my intentions, presence, and inner essence. They carry the same invitation I have always hoped to offer others through my work — to slow down, listen within, and reconnect with compassion and stillness.

Q: I’m curious about the balance on this record, because it feels both ancient and very present-day. How did you find that sweet spot between mantra, meditation, and modern sound?
A: I think that balance emerged through a very beautiful collaboration with composer and producer Alvydas Mačiulskas and co-producer Ben Leinbach. Both are incredibly accomplished musicians and instrumentalists, and they deeply honored my intention to preserve the ancient wisdom and spiritual depth of the mantras while allowing them to exist within a modern sonic landscape.
With my melodies and vocals, I was searching for a bridge between ancient wisdom and the modern mind. Many spiritual traditions preserve sound exactly as it has been transmitted for centuries, while modern interpretations sometimes lose connection to the roots and depth of the practice. I wanted these mantras to honor both worlds simultaneously.
In many ways, it felt like allowing ancient prayers to breathe through contemporary sound.

Q: When you’re creating music like this, do you think more like a musician, a guide, or a listener yourself?
A: When creating mantras, I become very still internally and tune into the feeling and energy of the mantra itself. I try to move beyond thinking and simply allow the voice and melody to come through naturally.
In those moments, I do not necessarily feel like a performer. I feel more like a vessel for sound — both a listener and a guide — allowing whatever wants to emerge to arrive as honestly and purely as possible.

Q: A lot of artists talk about making albums, but this one almost feels like it was designed as an experience. Did you always see Whispers of Rain as something people would move through from start to finish?
A: Yes, very much so. I see the album both as one complete journey and also as seven individual journeys that listeners can enter depending on what they need emotionally or spiritually in the moment.
Some people tell me they play one mantra on repeat because it becomes deeply soothing or grounding for them, while others move through the entire album like a meditative experience unfolding from beginning to end. I love that it can become something different for each person.

Q: The space in the music really stands out too. How intentional were you about leaving room for silence, breath, and stillness in these tracks?
A: Very intentional. Sound is born from silence and eventually dissolves back into silence again, and I wanted the music to honor that relationship.
There were moments in the recordings where it felt as though the mantras themselves had their own emotional rhythm and pace, and I had to surrender fully to that. Sometimes that meant allowing long pauses, deep breaths, sustained chants, or emotional moments to remain untouched.
None of the vocals were scripted or heavily rehearsed. Much of the soundscape emerged spontaneously in the moment. In many ways, the silence itself guided us and revealed what was needed.

Q: For someone who’s never really connected with mantra music before, what track on this album would you want them to start with, and why?
A: I would probably suggest starting with “Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha.” It carries both a soothing melodic quality and the rhythmic flow that many people associate with mantra chanting.
To me, it feels nurturing, softening, and deeply healing. It invites surrender, trust, and release — almost like being gently carried by the healing force of nature itself.

Q: The tracks, “Om Muni Muni” and “Lokah”, feel like strong entry points. What do those songs open up for you personally when you sing them?
A: “Lokah” feels like a universal prayer for the relief of suffering for all beings. I am deeply sensitive to human suffering on many levels, and singing that mantra feels like offering a small drop of compassion and hope into the world.
“Om Muni Muni,” on the other hand, feels almost like a lullaby for my heart and mind. As I continue repeating the mantra, I notice the urge to judge, fix, or overthink slowly dissolving, bringing me back into stillness and presence.
Both mantras open very different emotional landscapes, yet they ultimately lead toward the same place — deeper awareness, compassion, and inner quiet.

Q: Because you’ve worked in mindfulness, coaching, and personal development for so long, do you feel like this album says something about where you are in your own journey right now?
A: Absolutely. This album is a reflection of my own spiritual awakening and inner transformation as much as it is an offering for others.
The invitation within my work has always remained the same — to pause, reflect, reconnect, and explore inwardly. The form that invitation takes has simply evolved over the years.
Right now, my own journey is very much about surrender — learning how to trust life more deeply, let go of control, and continue unfolding into greater freedom within myself.

Q: Now that Whispers of Rain is out in the world, what are you most excited for people to take from it over the next few months?
A: More than anything, I hope people allow themselves to experience the mantras in their own unique way. Every mantra meets you differently depending on where you are emotionally, mentally, and spiritually in that moment.
I hope listeners use the music as an invitation to slow down, listen inwardly, cultivate compassion, and reconnect with themselves. Even for a few moments, there is something profoundly healing about becoming fully present with sound, breath, and stillness.

Q: Looking ahead to the rest of this year, what’s next for you, whether that’s more music, live offerings, meditation work, or something completely unexpected?
A: Honestly, I am still allowing space for that answer to reveal itself naturally. Releasing both the mantra album “Whispers of Rain” and guided meditation album “Journey to Self” felt like the completion of a very significant chapter in my life.
Right now, I want to remain open to whatever unfolds next. I would love to begin offering more live contemplative experiences — perhaps intimate gatherings or retreat-style events centered around sound, stillness, meditation, and reflection. I also feel called to continue supporting individuals who want to begin or deepen their meditation practice.