Abby V – Aarambh (Sufiscore, 2023)
Remarkable singer Abby V and three-time GRAMMY-winning composer-producer Ricky Kej have forged a profound musical connection that transcends continents and time zones. Their delightful and masterfully crafted collaboration on the full-length album Aarambh for the South Asian-focused music media platform Sufiscore is nothing short of magical. The Toronto-based vocalist, Abby V, known for his extraordinary voice and as an Instagram and YouTube sensation, brings vibrancy to Kej’s compositions.
This album seamlessly combines Indian classical music, electronica, strings, beat-based ambient music, and various genres. Abby V is joined by a stellar lineup of charming Indian vocalists for enchanting duets, including KS Chithra, Jonita Gandhi, Pratibha Singh, Sivaangi, Sona Mohapatra, Antara Nandi, and Benny Dayal. Apart from the globally recognized version of the pop song ‘Yesterday,’ the songs in Aarambh are in Hindi, delivered with profound and gripping expression.
“The heart of the album is traditional Indian classical music,” says the Bangalore-based Kej from the road in Nashville, Tennessee. “But the instrumentation is very modern — it’s in a palette that will appeal to people who listen to many kinds of music. We’re taking Indian classical music to listeners that would not normally listen to it.”
“A lot of my learning and training has been in Indian and Western Classical music,” says V. “I’ve sung in English, Latin, German, a lot of Hindustani and Carnatic music, and a lot of what I present online is an amalgamation of styles. I want to present it so it’s not restricted to a certain part of the audience. This album truly stands for that.”
Kej sings the praises of the illustrious guest vocalists gathered here: “KS Chithra [‘Payoji’] is a legend, a four-decade career with hit Bollywood songs and South Indian film songs, thousands of them. Jonita Gandhi [‘Rathiya’] is very popular, and I’ve done two virtual concerts with her during the pandemic. Pratibha Singh Baghel [‘Kahe Satave’] is a traditional singer who has also worked with Sufiscore on her beautiful album Inheritance.
“Antara Nandi [‘Balama More’] is an Instagram sensation who sings classical music but also dance music, a very skilled vocalist and very young. Then there’s Sivaangi [‘Mangala Din’], who was on the South Indian reality show Super Singer and has diehard fans and a couple million followers.
“Sona Mohapatra [‘Ghule’] has a strong pop identity and sings a lot of Indian folk melodies — her voice is extremely recognizable to a lot of people. It was all about sending these singers files, speaking to them on the phone, telling them how many gigabytes to give us, how many variations, what kind of microphone to use. These people are all pros — the pandemic has taught us to record ourselves and be self-sufficient. Every one of them exceeded our expectations.”
Benny Dayal, the praised Indian playback singer, stands out as the sole male guest, concluding the album with the soulful ‘Kaga Jaa Re.’ Kej elucidates, “A lot of the songs are based on the Bandish style,” describing it as a classical form with repetitive phrases and romantic language in an older Hindi dialect.
Save for “‘”Yesterday” (my least favorite track), with English lyrics that are known the world over, the songs of Aarambh are in Hindi and rendered with deep, gripping expression.
“Every time Ricky had a song ready, I would approach it with a very raw perspective,” says V. “First I would just internalize the composition. I was lucky to be a part of it — the compositions took shape with a lot of my input, which Ricky would then incorporate into the song. With Ricky, there’s so much room for the singer or any instrumentalist to come in with their thoughts and shape it in a way that relates to their experiences. The structure of the composition is intact, and Ricky’s vision is maintained, but he’s very open to me and all the singers expressing our own thoughts. My vocal performances aim to be a representation of my training, experience and background. I approached every track with my truest vocal sensibilities, through the ornamentation I add or the improvisational aspects like sargam or alaaps, or even incorporating syncopated jazz harmonies against an otherwise monophonic raga-based melody. Every line on the album reflects my artistic journey.”
There are bracing, virtuosic vocal improvisations, based on the sargam syllables of sa re ga ma pa dha ni sa’, on the tracks ‘Ghule,’ ‘Mangala Din’and ‘Kaga Jaa Re.’ Functionally, these duo vocal flights are akin to a “blazing guitar solo” in Western music, says Kej. There’s also a certain harmonic mystery on songs like ‘Payoji,’ with “a male choir kind of sound that’s a little Gregorian in nature,” Kej adds. “The harmonies are not even what a Western classical choir is used to, with a slight jazz element, a slight Celtic element. It’s all the influences that I’ve had from film scoring to New Age music to Celtic music and choral music, bringing all those influences together to create a completely new sound.”
“I love experimenting with a lot of traditional forms of music and presenting them in new ways,” V adds in conclusion. “Music, including classical, is constantly evolving. I’ve always been taught to embrace these changes and expand the boundaries of creativity, and that’s exactly what we’ve attempted with this project. The beauty of it is that Ricky can bring all these elements together so beautifully and concisely. I’m so incredibly proud that we achieved this.”
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.