- 2025-01-20
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MUSIC
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Anoushka Shankar Announces New Mini-Album “Chapter III: We Return to Light”, Shares New Song “Hiraeth”
British-American sitar player Anoushka Shankar has announced her upcoming mini-album “Chapter III: We Return to Light” will be released on March 14, 2025.
The album is the third installment of the trilogy of mini-albums, following “Chapter I: Forever, For Now” and “Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn”.
From the album, she released a new song “Hiraeth” on January 17, 2025.
On the track, she worked with San Francisco-based sarod player Alam Khan and London-based percussionist Sarathy Korwar.
The track was written by Alam Khan, Anoushka Shankar, and Sarathy Korwar who also produced it.
Anoushka Shankar said of the song, “This beautiful Welsh word carries with it a feeling of longing, nostalgia for a motherland, the ache of separation. 'Hiraeth' was the first song we worked on together and it holds such a special place in my heart. Those with a keen ear might hear my father's Raga Palas Kafi amongst looping melodies and backwards sarod lines, a tether to our origins, our musical roots, and the places we've called home.”
She added, “I discovered my love of a POG pedal on this track to really enjoy that lower octave crunchiness on my sitar.”- The new mini-album comprises a 6-track, featuring guest appearances from Alam Khan & Sarathy Korwar.
Anoushka Shankar fully embraces a looping and bending sound technique.
Anoushka Shankar said of the album, “If 'Chapter I: Forever, For Now' conjured an afternoon in a sun-kissed garden, and 'Chapter II: How Dark it is Before Dawn' had us journey through a healing night, then this final offering leads us into the full heat of morning. That searing light symbolises the culmination of a journey through pain and recovery, into a place of strength, joy, and resilience. This has been both a personal and a global allegory, responding to my life and the world over the last two years. I suppose Chapter III is, in a way, a Utopian ideal that those of us not yet there may need to cling to in order to keep going. I'm so proud of this album and grateful for what it represents-a return to source, an unfolding, a joyful loosening, limbs stretching sunwards.” -
The second installment of the trilogy of mini-albums, “Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn” was nominated for Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
The ceremony will take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on February 2, 2025.
Anoushka Shankar said, “II received two Recording Academy nominations, including one for my precious and most recent baby ‘Ch II: How Dark it is Before Dawn.’ When I titled it, I knew we needed a reminder that light would follow the seemingly-endless descent into darkness, and this album is about leaning into hope exactly when that feels the most pointless. I didn’t know then how despondent I would feel the week of it being recognized and the timing feels surreal. Please listen to it when you need to feel held and hugged by sound, please listen in the dark in your bed, please listen when you need a reminder of a new dawn.”
Photo by Carly Hildebrant
Background photo by Laura Lewis - source : Apple Music
