Charli Ra Embraces Letting Go On “Siddhartha Gautama”
Most of us first learned about the Buddha’s Great Renunciation as children, and at that age, it must have sounded absurd: a man willingly abandoning luxury, comfort, and royal privilege to live a simpler life. When you’re young, so much of the world still feels out of reach, and growing up often means dreaming about the freedom and indulgence adulthood supposedly offers. But age has a way of reshaping that perspective. Over time, the endless noise, excess, and exhaustion of life can make renunciation feel less like foolishness and more like liberation. After being stretched thin enough by the world around us, the desire to let go of it all starts to not only make sense, but becomes a necessity, something explored in “Siddhartha Gautama,” the new single and video from Richmond musician Charli Ra.
Joined on the track by musician Kevo!, Charli Ra uses the song’s namesake as a spiritual framework for shedding the exhausting emotional weight that modern life relentlessly places upon us all. “The pendulum, it swings as I\ Release all of the energy\ That’s plaguing me and causing\ All of my wheels to get caught,” she sings, describing the mental and emotional paralysis that comes from carrying too much for too long. Rather than wallowing under that weight, however, the song gradually transforms into a voluntary surrender, a deliberate purge. “I’m releasing intentionally like\ Siddhartha Gautama,” Charli repeats, framing the process less as defeat and more as enlightenment through detachment. The second verse from Kevo! follows that same sense of capitulation, moving out of turbulent settings into a place of emotional serenity that leads to true fulfillment: “Finally, through the good and through the bad\ I give myself what I never had\ I’m free\ Finally happy to be\ Just me in the universe again.”
That same spiritual recalibration extends into the accompanying video, shot by Grow Some Daily Productions. Framed within restorative woodland settings, the visuals mirror the song’s search for calmness and clarity, portraying transcendence not as some unreachable destination, but as the simple act of learning to exist comfortably within yourself. In that stillness, the quiet rewards of detachment and self-awareness begin to emerge, much in the spirit of the Buddha’s teachings. Yet neither the song nor the video advocates a complete renunciation of earthly pleasures; instead, they seek a healthier balance between asceticism and Epicureanism, a way to move through life untethered without denying yourself the experience of truly living.
“Siddhartha Gautama” is both the lead single and opening track from Charli Ra’s new EP, Saturn, a five-song collection centered around reflection, self-awareness, and personal transformation. Guided by astrological imagery and emotional intuition, the project continues Charli’s evolution as an artist willing to examine vulnerability and strength from every angle. Her fourth EP and sixth record overall, Saturn feels less like a reinvention and more like an arrival point, the sound of an artist stepping into alignment with herself after years of searching for solid ground, even if it took blasting into orbit to find.
Watch the video for “Siddhartha Gautama” below and make sure to follow Charli Ra on social media for more.
