Hitting the Right Note

It’s a compilation in active voice,one that talks about women’s empowerment,female foeticide,the right to choose one’s own partner and to live life on your own terms. Singer Manpreet Kaur’s latest album,Jogan,has the singer singing about all these issues. Released by popular Punjabi folk singer,Pammi Bai at UT Guest House today,the eight-track album features the quintessential Punjabi tadka in songs that range from melancholic numbers to romantic songs in hip hop and Sufi flavours. Jogan is Kaur’s debut Punjabi album.

“I don’t want to restrict myself to any genre,I want to be known as a singer who can sing everything,” says Kaur,who hails from Ahmedabad and has been singing since she was eight. The musical gene,she adds,can be credited to her mother who is into Gurbani music,in which Kaur has also trained extensively. As the music levels progressed and changed,so did the teachers,and in the process,Kaur learnt different styles like semi-classical,kirtan,ghazal,etc. In fact,her first album was a devotional album titled Aukhi Ghari Na Dekhan Deyi.

In one of the songs titled Gabru,she expresses her desire to marry a Sikh boy,a sabat surat sardar . While the music is laced with regular Punjabi beats,it’s Kaur’s voice and its texture that is refreshing as it manages to break the monotony of the high-pitched and shrill voices synonymous with Punjabi female singers. “My aim is to work hard and gain mastery over every genre,” says Kaur,who adds that she does not need a talent hunt show for that.

Moot the subject of acting and she blushes. “To be honest,music is my field,but if I get a part which agrees with my personality,religion and principals,then I’ll consider it,” says Kaur.