‘Earth’: A folk album reverberating around the diverse rhythms of Indian landscape

Folk music has always fascinated musicians with its earthly essence. It’s the bread and the beer of music; the tea and the flavor of any culture. Steeped in nationalism, and fermented over time folk songs have always influenced our culture. That’s the message a new music album ‘Earth’ wants to spread.
From the divine mountains to the placid backwaters, from the parched deserts to the green valleys and fertile plains, the album ‘Earth’ reverberates around the diverse rhythms of the Indian landscape.As we journey through the album, we immerse in the unique and rich heritage of the land.

The album, released by JSE Music, is a compilation of popular folk songs from different regions, beautifully arranged by Nilanjan Ghosh and Tushar Banerjee and have been sung by noted artists from different parts of India. Five-time Filmfare Awards (South) winner for Best Playback Singer Female, Shweta Mohan has rendered her voice for an iconic Kerala temple folk song. The Album opens with her song, ‘Pallivaalu Bhadravattakam’ - an ode to Mother Goddess and a perfect way to celebrate the festive month. Be it Murshidabadi's ‘Naiharwa’ or Koushik Chakraborty's ‘Krishno Preme Pora Deho’, the album emanates the essence of life, the pulsating energy of nature and the absolute spirituality reflected in the heart and soul of its denizen. It’s also a vibrant cultural travelogue that one can feel in the songs 'Nai Jaana' by Anushree, 'Chaudhury' by Anushka Patra, 'Vallav Re Nakhwa' by Hriti Tikadar and 'Bahero Bahero' by Arkadeep Mishra.

There are many of us who fondly reminisce growing up listening to audio albums that were made specifically for Durga Puja when we intently listened to music, much before the trend of music videos set in. Now, the entire country is dressing up in festive spirit. Hence this musical project is surely deep-rooted in the rich Indian soil.

The folk album was recently launched by Pandit Tanmoy Bose in ICCR.