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Emerging Tamil-Swiss artist Priya Ragu shares the second remix of her label debut single, “Good Love 2.0,” by Swedish group Little Dragon today via Warner Records; check it out HERE. The track follows last month’s remix by Joe Goddard of Grammy and Mercury Prize-nominated synth-pop group Hot Chip; listen HERE.

Little Dragon, renowned for tracks including “Ritual Union” and “Twice” as well as their collaborations with artists including SBTRKT, Flying Lotus, and Little Simz, reinvent “Good Love 2.0” as soul-tinged electro-pop. The original’s bounding energy propelled their creativity: “We couldn’t stop dancing and playing air bass throughout the whole process!”

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Produced by and written with Priya’s brother, Japhna Gold, “Good Love 2.0” unites Priya’s love of RandB with her Sri Lankan heritage, incorporating textures from traditional South Indian instrumentation and inspiration from legendary composers of Indian cinema such as A.R. Rahman, Ilaiyaraaja and Deva. The track projects her idea of an idealistic first love, one that she says is, “Beyond religion, beyond caste, beyond colour. It’s the feeling nothing can tear you apart because it’s so strong.”

Priya, born and raised in Switzerland after her parents escaped from the Sri Lankan civil war in the early 80s, initially rose to prominence with a handful of independently released singles that attracted the attention of Rolling Stone India, VH1 India, Radio 1, 1XTRA and others. Now signed to Warner Records globally, “Good Love 2.0” is her first official release, with much more music to come.

Although now incredibly proud and supportive of her career, Priya’s parents initially didn’t want her to listen to Western pop and were keen for her to get married as she reached adulthood. Eventually something snapped – she quit her job as she wanted to put everything into music and decided to move to America for six months. Needing somewhere to stay, her friend, the rapper Oddisee offered Priya his Brooklyn studio. Sending song ideas back and forth to Japhna, the pair created a number of tracks whilst she was there and the work continued when she returned to Zurich, where Priya currently resides. Her connection with Oddisee continues today, most recently when Priya featured on “Still Strange,” a track from his album Odd Cure. 

Ultimately, Priya Ragu’s artistry explores every aspect of her culture, from her music to her sense of style to her use of both the English and Tamil languages. “I’m so proud of my heritage, my parents, my people,” she says. “I want to create amazing music. I want to leave behind meaningful songs and a real cultural impact. I want to make South Asian people proud.”