“It feels like your soul’s getting into a bath.” – Yoga Magazine
Hédi Carlee is a rising star in the mantra music scene, known for her unique harmonies and fresh approach. Her Gayatri Mantra recently surpassed 1 million streams. We spoke with Hédi Carlee about her journey.
People know you as Charlie Dée, celebrated for your fresh yet melancholic pop songs. You earned praise from Joni Mitchell, won the Grote Prijs van Nederland, received an Essent Award, and had Tiesto remix “Have It All.” Your beautiful duet with Huub van der Lubbe and performances at festivals like Lowlands, Oerol, and Appelpop have also been highlights.
Now, you’re presenting something entirely new. Who is Hédi Carlee?
“That’s me!” she says with a smile. Hédi Carlee is an anagram of Charlie Dée. In 2017, I had a serious car accident that resulted in a whiplash injury and mild brain damage. It took years to recover, and during that time, I became hypersensitive to light and noise, leading to isolation and self-reflection.
This journey brought me to mantra music and sacred chanting, which had a profound positive impact on my recovery. I started making music again with some of my old band members. Given my transformation, both personally and musically, I felt it was time for a new stage name, I thought, well, I had a bit of a bang to the head, which then lead me to undergo this transformation I mentioned earlier – which was also a musical transformation in many ways, – perhaps it’s also time to give my stage name a bit of a shake-up. and thus Hédi Carlee was born.
Listen to Hédi’s Mantra music on Spotify
+ 85.000 monthly listeners
2019: Inside Out
2023: Like Birds Sing Pt.1
Projects
Hédi’s mantra (about singing mantra) is always: don’t just sing for yourself, sing for the whole world!
Mantras are universal; it is the language understood in the same way by everyone. And when you sing, you not only improve your own life but your entire environment benefits from the positive vibrations.
In empowering even more change through mantra music, Hédi firmly believes in involving the youth – they are one of the keys to a transformed world. Mantras are more than just melodies; they’re pathways to peace, confidence, and creativity, as well for our young ones. As they chant the sacred sounds, they cultivate focus, feel embodied, reduce stress, and enhance mindfulness. Which are all beautiful skills to empower children to help heal trauma, express themselves and embrace their uniqueness.
To help children and young adults all over the world to explore the Healing powers of mantra and voice expression she is currently working on a mantra album crafted BY and FOR children.
This album is an important part of the program she is offering to after school teachers and aid workers.
Invited by First Lady of the West Cape of South Africa Tracy Winde, founder of the Heart Shine Academy to share her voice, knowledge and inspiration with the children and young adults, students of the Amy Foundation and the Heart Shine Academy she recently travelled to Capetown.
Heartshine Academy is a foundation based in Capetown, South Africa and provides creative arts programmes and mindfulness based therapeutic training to children and young people facing significant daily challenges.
Their mission is to inspire and empower our future generations.
“Trauma is perhaps the most avoided, ignored, belittled, denied, misunderstood and untreated cause of human suffering.“ – Dr Peter Levine
Besides the album recorded for teachers so they can sing with their students, Hédi developed a program for teachers of after school programs which focusses on fostering deep connections, allowing participants to confront and heal their deepest issues collaboratively, to expand one’s emotional and energetic range and to connect more deeply with others, to create an embodied sense of connection through the power of sound, voice expression and singing together.