Creativity requires courage: Singer Falu Shah

By Siddhi Jain

New Delhi, Sep 3 Celebrated Grammy-nominated singer, Falu Shah, together with her Boston-based band ‘Karyshma’ has launched their latest collection ‘Someday’. An EP of traditional Indian classical, folk, and Sufi songs; these renditions of traditional Hindustani music celebrate the unity and oneness that is ‘India’, at a time of uncertainty and universal distress.

Falu, who is the band’s lead singer-songwriter, along with her other band members told IANSlife, “The unprecedented times that we are currently going through – the bleakness – inspired us to bring back and spread love through ‘Someday’. In spite of the band residing on two different coasts, we didn’t want the geographical inconsistencies to get in the way of our inspiration.”

They added: “Creativity takes courage, and with this album our effort is to shed some light of hope during the current pandemic and bring a smile to the face of our beloved audience.”

“The songs you hear on this album represent my childhood memories when I resorted to music for solace and comfort. In 31 days across six different cities we, Falu and Karyshma, tried to capture that feeling. I hope you hear the voice of hope and calmness in this album,” shared Falu.

With ‘Someday’, the band reimagines South Asia’s musical traditions – from classical ragas to the 15th century song-and-dance stylings of thumri, and the ghazals of Sufi mystics dating back to the 7th century. Drawing from more recent times, the band reconstructs ‘Yara’ – a classic from Indian Cinema’s golden age.

In order to provide context to ‘Someday’, the band has also put together a visual which features footage of life and culture in India, interspersed with insights on the music of ‘Someday’, it is available to watch on YouTube. You can also catch it on Spotify and Apple Music.