Six-time Grammy Award-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar releases her debut Mercury KX album, ‘Love Letters’, out now.
Hailed by the Guardian as a “virtuoso sitar player”, Anoushka truly pushes the boundaries of how the instrument is heard and perceived and “uses it as a vehicle for creativity” (Times).
Her new EP ‘Love Letters’ marks a different direction for the internationally celebrated artist; it offers a shift in intimacy and content and comes at a pivotal time in her career as she signs to her new record label, Mercury KX.
Love Letters documents a time of profound flux for Anoushka: health issues, heartbreak, domestic upheaval;
“These were heavy shocks and challenges, things which pushed me into some very vulnerable places. I’ve written from a personal place before, of course, but there was something particularly tender and raw about the process this time,”
Writing and recording Love Letters has been an exercise in catharsis for Shankar, a “gentle, organic process” that saw her collaborating almost exclusively with female peers. During the toughest parts of that 2018-2019 period, Shankar found the practical and emotional support that her friends, fellow artists and performers offered became, quite naturally, artistic in nature.
A rotating cast of vocalists, musicians and producers, with Alev Lenz as the principal collaborator, would turn up for emotional support and talks that evolved into songwriting sessions: informal workshops sandwiched between school runs and spent crossed-legged on Shankar’s living room floor. “I really got to experience the way women show up for each other when crisis strikes. There was this sweetness; I felt very held throughout this process, and that’s really where this music came from – the shared experience of women, holding my hand and helping me find a safe place to put some of my feelings.” (Anoushka Shankar)
A singular figure in the progressive world music scene, Anoushka’s dynamic and spiritual musicality has garnered several prestigious accolades, including six Grammy® Award nominations, recognition as the youngest – and first female – recipient of a British House of Commons Shield, and a Songlines Best Artist Award.
Ultimately, the collection of songs on Love Letters are about more than heartbreak or loss; they pull from various wellsprings – nostalgia, regret, pain, hope – and mark a quiet metamorphosis for the artist.
You can listen to ‘Love Letters’ here.
