Lumina arrives as a single, released April 1, 2026, with one track on the release. That shape matters. Where an album asks you to move through a landscape, a single asks you to stand in one place and look. It suits an artist whose stated purpose is slowing the world down, "even if only for a moment," and returning to the tempo of nature.
John de Kadt works across several roles: musician, poet, storyteller, and kirtan leader. For more than 25 years he has told ancient myths from indigenous cultures and mystical traditions, treating story as ritual and ceremony. He calls this practice DrumStory, performing while playing percussive and melodic instruments from around the world, for audiences in Asia, Europe, and North America, in festivals, theaters, churches, and retreat centers. He is also a founding member of The Rememberers, a trio that weaves ancient myths with original songs, and the creator of BlessFest, a festival of music, healing, and sacred arts.
Against that background, a 2026 single reads less like a career statement and more like a distilled offering: a single piece of that long practice, set apart so it can be heard on its own. It is a small door into a large body of work.
I'll be candid about the limits here. The available information does not list instrumentation, collaborators, or a track-by-track description for Lumina, so I won't claim specifics about what you'll hear. What can be said is drawn from De Kadt's body of work: his music is built around global percussion and melodic instruments, a storyteller's sense of pacing, and a devotional intent. Expect, as a reasonable orientation rather than a promise, an unhurried tempo, a voice that serves the material rather than showing off, and a mood closer to ceremony than entertainment.
The title itself, Lumina, suggests light, and it's worth letting that word sit with you before pressing play. Notice whether the music seems to open, glow, or settle. Your own response is the most reliable evidence.
With a single-track release, there is only one signature piece to name: Lumina itself. What makes it worth a dedicated listen is its context. This is a work from an artist whose whole approach is to treat sound as a vehicle for remembrance. Listen for how the piece unfolds in time. Artists rooted in storytelling tend to think in arcs, with an arrival, a deepening, and a release, even in a short form. Ask whether Lumina behaves like a story, a chant, or a prayer, and let that shape how you hear it.
De Kadt is identified as a kirtan leader, which places his work near the call-and-response devotional tradition of bhakti, where music is a path to presence rather than a performance. But his roots stretch wider: myth-telling from many indigenous and mystical lineages, sacred arts, and healing-oriented gatherings. Lumina is best understood as living at the meeting point of devotional music, ceremonial storytelling, and the contemplative end of the spectrum, without being confined to any one genre. No genre tags are attached to the release, and that openness seems fitting.
This single will resonate most with listeners who already use music as a practice: people who attend kirtan, yoga, or meditation gatherings, who value retreat-center and festival culture, or who are drawn to myth and ritual. It will also meet anyone in a transitional moment who wants a pause rather than stimulation: after a demanding week, during a season of grief or reorientation, or at the edge of a new beginning. If you come to music hoping for propulsion or hooks, you may need to adjust your expectations. The reward here is likely in attention rather than excitement.
Give Lumina a deliberate setting. Listen in the evening, when the day's noise has begun to fade, ideally alone and with headphones so that subtle textures in the instruments and voice are not lost. Dim the lights or light a candle if that suits you, and silence your phone. Because it is a single, you can listen to it twice in a row: once with your eyes closed, simply receiving it, and once while noticing where your mind goes and where the music seems to lead it. Afterward, sit for a minute in the quiet. With De Kadt's work, that silence is part of the piece.
