MUMBAI: On the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri, AR Rahman’s protégé and Hindustani classical vocalist Suchismita, who has Hollywood film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its’ sequel to her credit, announces the launch of her brand-new single that releases today across all major streaming platforms.

Titled ‘Damaru’, the up-tempo edgy EDM record features Grammy Award winner and US Billboard #1 artist, internationally renowned Indian music composer and environmentalist, Ricky Kej, world class bass guitar prodigy Mohini Dey and London-based rapper Maya Miko in shining roles. Directed by Los Angeles-based JS Arts, the colourful music video brings to the life the narrative of the track which circles around the themes of devotion, ecstasy and abundance.

Suchismita who currently shuttles between Los Angeles and Mumbai owing to her keenness for exploration of the western music markets and her marriage to a tech author in 2020 says, “I always wanted to release ‘Damaru’ on Shivratri since I’m an ardent follower of Shiv but owing to the turbulent pandemic I missed releasing the single over the last two years. I’m grateful that I have such a phenomenal bunch of collaborators on this single. The underlying idea was to present a unique take on devotional music as I’ve attempted to merge diverse soundscapes such as EDM, rap and classical into one heady experimental concoction with this devotional single.”

Ricky Kej elaborates, “It was a pleasure working with Suchismita on Damaru. Suchismita has a fantastic voice and is an absolute virtuoso. Her composition was beautiful and I am glad I was able to bring in a fresh production approach to this timeless melody. All the musicians did a fantastic job.”

Mohini Dey states, “ Damaru is really a special composition that employs the sounds of Indian vocals, modern hip-hop vocals (rap) electronic dance music (EDM) and slap bass. This eclectic blend is indeed a perfect mix. I had a blast working on the project.”

Hailing from the city of Kolkata, Suchismita started training in Hindustani vocal at the age of four. Her talent gave her the opportunity to study Hindustani classical music in the style of Patiala Gharana. Spanning across 2 decades, her diverse musicality embraces everything from classical to ghazal to contemporary to film and world music forms. She shot to fame when she premiered on national television alongside A. R. Rahman for a duet on ‘Jagao Mere Des Ko’ for MTV Coke Studio India. Thereafter Hollywood music composer Thomas Newman invited her to sing and co-write the score for the Golden Globe Award nominated film, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its’ sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Her first outing in Bollywood was marked by the romantic track ‘Desi Romance’ for Shaadi Ke Side Effects. Thereafter she has contributed to many other films such as Ye Jawani Hai Deewani, Airlift, Mirzya, Jigariya, Tigers, Lakshmi, Kalank and Ram Singh Charlie. A serious exponent of Indian classical music, she is proficient in presenting Indian ragas, thumris and ghazals. She enjoys a long-standing repertoire of having collaborated with stalwarts like A. R. Rahman, Javed Akhtar, Pritam, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, amongst others. Javed Akhtar penned one of her noteworthy compositions: ‘Payal’, which earned her rave reviews. Her other single ‘Ek Lamha’, a romantic duet featuring Shankar Mahadevan, penned by Kaifi Azmi earned her similar audience appreciation. She recently released her latest single ‘Kinare’ where she has fused a traditional bandish with a beautiful tarana.