‘Raagraanis’ Is a New Chapter for Ladies in Indian Classical Music

The brand new challenge Raagraanis is a five-track EP that brings collectively a singular workforce of Indian classically skilled ladies’s voices, led by singer-composer Prajakta Shukre and singer-lyricist Himani Kapoor.

With the album additionally uniting stalwart voices like Kalpana Gandharva, Pratibha Singh Baghel and Varijashree Venugopal, Shukre says the general imaginative and prescient was to write down music that was “completely immersed in Indian classical ragas.” She provides, “Even the phrases that we’ve used for the compositions are very bandish-like phrases.” With trendy manufacturing prospers to again up the storytelling, Shukre says the artists had been free to relate tales from a lady’s perspective. “Compositions had been additionally executed figuring out it’s going to be female-centric,” Shukre says.

Kapoor, who’s the director at music firm Namyoho Studios with the EP’s producers and musicians Kamal Bharti, Nataraj Kshetricha, Swapnomoy Chowdhury and Rajat Kumar, says she and Shukre created three songs initially. “Because the songs got here collectively, we realized we had been constructing one thing particular rooted in classical ragas with a contemporary contact,” the lyricist says. Launched through the label Sufiscore, Raagraanis begins with the digital fusion of the plaintive but upbeat “Saiyaan Na Aaye” sung by Kalpana Gandharva in raag bhairavi, adopted by the appropriately jazz-informed “Sajan Ghar Aaye” with Varijashee Venugopal in raag bhimpalasi. Pratibha Singh Baghel leads the stirring, cinematic “Jiya Nahi Laage” in raag madhuvanti and there’s a seemingly lush trip-hop and glitch-hop aspect that enhances Himani Kapoor’s “Tere Bina Saawan.” The EP closes with the exuberant synth-drenched “Bairi Chhaliya,” showcasing an entire vary of conventional songs tailored into various types.

The primary three songs for the challenge, when Shukre and Kapoor had been initially working collectively, solely concerned Gandharva (“Each of us had the identical title on our thoughts,” Shukre says). Then, they introduced in Venugopal and Baghel, with Shukre helming the fifth and remaining monitor.

Gandharva recollects, “I acquired a name asking if I’d wish to be a part of an album that brings collectively a few of India’s most interesting feminine voices. That alone was sufficient for me to say sure. The concept felt highly effective—a collective of ladies expressing by classical music, reimagined.” She provides, “It’s uncommon to be in an area the place each lead artist is a lady—and never simply that, however ladies I love and love as mates. That made your complete course of extra private.”

Venugopal—skilled extra in Carnatic music—sang a bandish in “Sajan Ghar Aaye” primarily based on raag bhimpalasi, which relies on raag bheri in Carnatic music. She says she was inspired by Shukre and Kapoor to improvise as a lot as she needed. “To have just a little house for improvisation and an impromptu thread of ideas was very fantastically positioned in that track, I might say. I had an exquisite time exploring that place on the finish of the track, which later was choreographed so fantastically as a duet half with the saxophone [by I.D. Rao] on the track, and turned out rather well,” she provides.

Baghel, for her half, says she was “hooked” to the track “Jiya Naahi Laage” as quickly as she heard it. She recorded it and despatched it over to Shukre and Kapoor, who had been in New Delhi on the time. “I nonetheless felt that if the composer and creator of the track is there if you sing, then you definitely ship higher,” Baghel recollects. She went on to re-record the track and located herself a lot happier with the house to share her issues with Shukre and Kapoor and work by it.

Whereas the songs had been stitched collectively remotely at occasions, the artists behind Raagraanis all got here collectively for a photograph shoot in Mumbai for the quilt artwork. There are additionally plans to launch a four-city tour throughout Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata within the coming weeks. 

Kapoor says, “We’ll be performing the songs from the album each of their unique type and as unplugged, acoustic variations. Together with that, we’ll additionally sing a few of our earlier viewers favorites.” Shukre provides, “Particularly as a result of all of us will probably be touring collectively, it will likely be actually fantastic.” 

Baghel calls all of the songs on Raagraanis “masterpieces.” She provides, “Every singer is unbelievable on this challenge. And I’m really, I’m really grateful to be part of this. That is undoubtedly the primary time, however I hope that it will proceed.”