Watch Anoushka Shankar’s Video For ‘Those Words’

Today Anoushka Shankar released a new video for ‘Those Words’, a track featured on her critically acclaimed EP Love Letters which will be released as a special vinyl edition to mark Record Store Day 2020 on 29 August 2020. The video was directed by Anoushka Shankar and features cellist and composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson, renowned Indian singer Shilpa Rao and dancers Guro Nagelhus Schia and Vebjørn Sundby, who all recorded the footage on their smart phones from London, Mumbai and Norway.

Anoushka Shankar explained the inspiration for ‘Those Words’ as follows, “Ayanna came over with an open heart, a secret recipe and the seed of a new melody, which I tended and helped grow. We wrote a poem about memories, loss, and nostalgic words. Shirin Anandita took our original poem and helped it evolve into beautiful Punjabi lyrics of her own. Finally, Shilpa Rao shared her gorgeous voice with us to bring those lyrics to life.”

‘Those Words’ is featured on Anoushka Shankar’s EP Love Letters

‘Those Words’ is featured on Anoushka Shankar’s critically acclaimed EP Love Letters which will be released as a 12” vinyl on 29 August to mark Record Store Day 2020. The poignant songs on Love Letters document a time of profound flux for Anoushka – health issues, heartbreak, domestic upheaval – and show a new, vulnerable and raw side of her as a songwriter and musician. “These were difficult times, which pushed me into some very vulnerable places,” explained Anoushka. “I’ve written from a personal place before, of course, but there was something particularly tender about the process this time, and it was a creative challenge to be brave enough to allow the music to remain as raw as it began.”

A host of trail-blazing women feature on Love Letters, including singer and co-producer Alev Lenz, twin sister vocal duo Ibeyi, singer and cellist Ayanna Witter-Johnson, renowned Indian singer Shilpa Rao, Brooklyn-based mastering engineer Heba Kadry (Björk, Slowdive) and British audio mastering engineer Mandy Parnell (Aphex Twin, The XX).

Anoushka will be performing at the BBC Proms

Anoushka will be performing at the BBC Proms live from the Royal Albert Hall, with electronic artist Gold Panda, percussionist Manu Delago, conductor Jules Buckley and the Britten Sinfonia on Friday 4th September. Listen to Anoushka Shankar’s ‘New Explorations’ live on BBC Radio 3, watch on BBC Four, and catch up on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer.

About Anoushka Shankar

Sitarist, composer, and producer Anoushka Shankar is the daughter of legendary sitarist Ravi Shankar. She is a singular, genre-defying figure within the classical, contemporary, and progressive world music scenes. Her dynamic and spiritual musicality has garnered several prestigious accolades, including six Grammy Award nominations, recognition as the youngest and first female recipient of a British House of Commons Shield, and a Songlines Best Artist Award. In addition to performing as a solo sitarist Anoushka’s compositional work has led to cross-cultural collaborations with artists including Sting, M.I.A, Herbie Hancock, Rodrigo y Gabriela and Joshua Bell, as well as with his Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Inner World album and the new Soundwalk Collective album with Patti Smith, all of which demonstrate the versatility of the sitar across all musical genres. Anoushka has also started to compose for film, including scoring the silent 1928 film Shiraz for the British Film Institute and A Suitable Boy soundtrack for BBC1.

Anoushka Shankar’s EP Love Letters can be bought here.

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