Loud amp; Clear

A lot of people have accused me of selling out! I would like to ask them, when was the last time anyone talked about the release of a cla...

A lot of people have accused me of selling out! I would like to ask them, when was the last time anyone talked about the release of a classical album? I have no sense of disrespect for the popular, although classical music is always my first preference,quot; says khayal and thumri singer Shubha Mudgal who8217;s all set to release her second pop album, Ab Ke Sawan.

Mudgal, who, apart from being an accomplished performer, is also a composer of some repute 8212; she has scored music for dancers, ballets, documentary films, television serials and even two feature films, Mira Nair8217;s Kama Sutra and Rajan Khosa8217;s Dance Of The Wind 8212; first burst onto the pop scene with her album Ali More Angana in 1997 and followed it up with Jai Jai Mataram8216;, part of the Vande Mataram series.

quot;Each of these projects have had a distinct flavour 8212; I didn8217;t want to repeat myself. Which is why I have waited three full years to do Ab Ke Sawan, because I felt here was somethingthat would teach me a lot about other musical influences. Through all this, I8217;ve never put my classical concerts on the backburner,quot; she says hitting a soft note.

Mudgal has worked very closely with composer Shantanu Moitra and lyricists Prasoon Joshi and Jaideep Sahni on Ab Ke Sawan 8212; which has influences ranging from Indian folk and classical music to sounds from as far off as Africa 8212; which took a whole year to materialise.

Says Moitra, quot;From the beginning, I knew I wanted her to render these songs, simply because of the off-beat quality to her voice, that8217;s a complete contrast to the Indian concept of sweet and mellow8217;.quot;

For Mudgal herself, the idea of working with three newcomers and collaborating on an experiment like this was invigorating. quot;Working on multi-track sounds and being part of a team was a refreshing break. And I discovered that the microphone is a very tough taskmaster 8212; it8217;s challenging to pitch one8217;s voice differently and use it in a manner which hasn8217;t been explored. Icannot predict how far it will be accepted, but for all of us involved it was like a wonderful working holiday,quot; she says.

Ab Ke Sawan/Virgin Records