Celebrating the upcoming festival of Holi, Anahad Foundation has decided to launch a 10-track album ‘Colours of Braj’ expounding upon the multiple shades of Braj, a cultural hotspot in Uttar Pradesh. Accumulating a variety of art forms from this region, the cultural medley shall define the Braj region in an innovative way. Recorded at the homes of folk artists, these songs will bring you the state’s authentic appeal in a completely unadulterated way!
Compositions that revel in the essence of Holi!
Shuchi Roy, managing director at Anahad Foundation, issued a statement saying, “The objective of this album and journey was to put emphasis on the colours of Uttar Pradesh just like the festival of Holi does, showcasing the culture of the state. Till date, no one has recorded the folk music of Uttar Pradesh like we have. This initiative was a little special as we were introducing the artists with the new technology of Dolby Atmos. It was truly an enriching experience.” Bringing an art form straight from the doorstep of the artists, the songs amalgamate the sound of the breeze and the twittering of birds with the rhythm.
An inseparable part of the state’s culture, Holi in Uttar Pradesh is not just a festival of colours but also marks a blossom of bright flowers and vibrant music. Marking the multidimensional nature of this festival, this album celebrates the essence of Holi. In addition to this, it attempts to deliver a taste of a homely feel to the ones who are not able to celebrate Holi with their loved ones and families.
Rasiya, Phaag, Thadda rasiya & much more!
These compositions have been produced under Anahad’s flagship programme, Backpack Studio. Remarkably, the production technology uses the techniques of a Grammy Award-winning engineer. This inventive technique runs on a battery and can record without a laptop under any circumstances. From cherished artforms like Rasiya, Phaag, Thadda rasiya to classical forms like Haveli sangeet, this collection will be enticing for many with a fine love for music.
Amongst the music stalwarts featured in this album, Phaag artist Jagdish Brijwasi and Haveli sangeet artist Hari Babu Kaushik are some of the most notable names. Being a non-profit organisation, Anahad Foundation shall contribute all royalties generated from this album to the artist’s relief fund for working on similar initiatives in the future. You can check out their journey of producing these soulful songs summarised in a short film on Anahad’s youtube channel by clicking here.
