Urban Soul

After singing about Nandigram and the jailed humanitarian Dr Binayak Sen, Delhi-based musician Susmit Bose is out with a new album titled “Song of the Eternal Universe” (Independent release by the Ford Foundation,Rs 195),to be released on Sunday.

The album is an experimental CD,a collection of songs Bose has collaborated on with Baul singers from Bengal,and has been commissioned by the Ford Foundation. “They felt there was a lot of similarity between my contemporary style of urban folk music and the 16th century traditional genre of the Baul. Both genres deal with social issues but the challenge is to transcreate the lyrics to suit the English language. Rural Bengali is far more poetic and the songs are about very simple ideas but with meaning and purpose,” says Bose.

The recordings were great fun,says Bose. “The Bauls don’t know how to tune their instruments,they sing very loudly because they sing in the open and don’t know how to control their pitch too well. I taught them some basics about recording and their dhol player was thrilled when we incorporated a solo by him on the track!” recalls Bose fondly. The album will be available at Oxford Bookstores after the launch on Sunday.