MUMBAI: Prolific collaborator and virtuoso sitarist Purbayan Chatterjee released the lead single ‘Shanmukhapriya - The Mystic’ off his new album, Unbounded – Abaad today.  

Unbounded - Abaad will release on the UK-based, South Asian-focused music platform and label Sufiscore and will be available worldwide on September 10. You can pre-save the album here. 

With collaboration at the heart of the global music album – and the single – Chatterjee and various co-collaborators take the listener on an inspiring auditory journey.

Out now, track features long-time Pat Metheny Group drummer and ‘Birdman’ composer Antonio Sanchez, Snarky Puppy bassist and founder Michael League and mandolin master U. Rajesh, singer Shankar Mahadevan among others 

Album to release on UK-based label Sufiscore on September 10

Listen to the track here

The album reflects not only Chatterjee’s mastery of Indian classical music but also what he calls “his love story with jazz” and his inquisitive approach to music of all kinds, blending a wealth of colours from master musicians around the world. “I’m trying to create a sound that appeals to the greater diaspora, incorporating the nuances of Western harmony along with the embellishments and ornaments of Indian music in terms of my playing, my phrasing, my thinking,” Chatterjee says.

The artwork – created by graphic designer and Studio Bigfat founder Aniruddh Mehta – also pays homage to the global and collaborative nature of the album. Inspired by the idea of a sacred room covered in beautiful intricate detailing, the mosaic-style artwork is a metaphorical representation of multiple artists from various parts of the world coming together to lend their talent into crafting this album, and thus creating this beautiful sonic composition.

‘Shanmukhapriya – The Mystic’

Viewed as one of the finest sitar players of his generation, Chatterjee has often bridged diverse musical worlds in his music and ‘Shanmukhapriya - The Mystic’ is another example of his ability to unite divergent soundscapes, joined by global masters like acclaimed drummer Antonio Sanchez, Snarky Puppy bassist Michael League and percussionist and kanjira master Selvaganesh.

In Shanmukhapriya - The Mystic’, sung by Shankar Mahadevan, we hear an exploration of the devotional element of Carnatic music in a post-modern Latin jazz soundscape, steered by the production and keyboards of Nakul Chugh, the mandolin mastery of U. Rajesh, the guitar of Indonesian native Aleif Hamdan and the subtle textural effect of the strings (cellist Emanuel Keller, violist Anna Stromer, violinist Bengisu Gökçe).

Based on a Carnatic ragam (56th Melakarta ragam) of the same name, and considered to have that special power to evoke divinity, Chatterjee chose the single for the same reason to open the seven-track album.

“This piece has a chant-like quality to it and many of its language-less chorus lines are like sacred chants. I wanted to start this album on this note,” he explains, adding, “It’s like the entire universe was created out of the hum of the ‘music of the spheres’. This album is a quest for a common musical consciousness which strings together many musical sensibilities into one pulse.”

Unbounded - Abaad will be Sufiscore’s sophomore release.