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,8221; says khayal and thumri singer Shubha Mudgal, who is 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 8211; 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 8211; first burst onto the pop scene with her album Ali More Angana in 1997 and followed it up with Jai Jai Mataram, part of the Vande Mataram series.

8220;Each of these projects have had a distinct flavour 8211; 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 something that would teach me a lot about other musical influences. Through all this, I8217;ve never put my classical concerts on the backburner,8221; 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 8211; which has influences ranging from Indian folk and classical music to sounds from as far off as Africa and took a whole year to materialise.

Says Moitra, 8220;From the beginning, I knew I wanted her to render these songs, simply because of the off-beat quality of her voice, which is a complete contrast to the Indian concept of sweet and mellow.8221;8217;

For Mudgal herself, the idea of working with three newcomers and collaborating on an experiment like this was invigorating. 8220;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 8211; it8217;s challenging to pitch one8217;s voice differently and use it in a manner that hasn8217;t been explored. I cannot predict how far it will be accepted, but for all of us involved, it was like a wonderful working holiday,8221; she says.