Kavita Seth releases Trance With Khushrow

Kavita Seth and son Kanishk

By Kanika Rajani

Orey manva tu to bavra hai (Wake Up Sid) — who can forget the voice that redefined romantic Bollywood music by Kavita Seth. She then vowed us with Tumhi ho bandhu (Cocktail) which was also on everyone’s playlist. Her latest album, Trance With Khushrow contains Sufi saint Amir Khusrow’s poetry that has been infused with trance and electronic beats. Notes from the bamboo flute, and esraj (string instrument) have also been used. The album consists of eight vocals and two instrumental songs, all of which have been produced by her son, Kanishk Seth.
“My son Kanishk was learning music production, prior to which he was learning sound engineering. His teachers advised him to pursue production as he had a good understanding of music. Kanishk designed and produced the song into trance. By doing so, he transformed the traditional composition so that the younger generation too hears it. Sufi music is commonly associated with the reputation of being for the niche and intellectual, ” she elaborates, explaining the reason behind the eclectic mix of Sufi, trance and electronic music.
The song, Aaj rang hai from the songstress’ first fusion album released last week. The song is about Amir Khushrow meeting his guru, Nizamudin Auliya for the first time. It also happened to be holi that day, which explains the lyrics, “Aaj rang hai, mere mehboob ke ghar rang hai ri”. Kavita even went to Nizammudin’s dargah to research the song. While the story behind this 800-year-old song is Khushrow’s meeting with his guru, Kavita has given the song a different treatment. “We have related the colour to blood, and have tried to convey for our own taste, for instance we musn’t consume meat. The video team wanted something out-of-the-box and we wanted to make the audience think, ” she explains.
Kavita, however was concerned about the Sufi notes getting drowned by the trance and electronic beats of the album. “When we do something well, expectations arise, after Iktara, Tumhi ho bandhu, my fans wanted to listen to Kavita’s music. This music defines me,” she pointed out.