Anoushka Shankar's new single Daydreaming, out today, September 15, is the second release ahead of her upcoming mini-album, Chapter I: Forever, For Now, which will be released by LEITER on October 6. Featuring Nils Frahm on piano, glass harmonica, harmonium and slit drum, the bewitching single is a fresh take on a Karnatik lullaby.
“I remember my mother and grandmother singing it to me as a child,” Shankar reminisces,
“and one day last summer, while I was in the garden with my two sons and my sitar, I was strumming when one of my sons got tired and lay down in my lap. As I started finding this melody from my childhood, he fell asleep, and I remember trying to savour the beauty of the moment. This song is a snapshot of afternoon sun through leaves, roses in bloom, a child dozing on his mother's lap, the preciousness of a single moment fully lived and witnessed. This whole chapter, in fact, is about that feeling, being completely in the fullness and transience of a single moment, coming to forever – for now.”
Daydreaming is the opener of the four new tracks, including first single Stolen Moments, which make up Forever, For Now, the first chapter in a trilogy of mini-albums Shankar will be writing and releasing as an evolving story between her US and Europe tours. The album features guest appearances from Nils Frahm, Gal Maestro (bass) and Magda Giannikou (accordion), and was produced by Arooj Aftab, with whom Shankar had previously collaborated on Grammy nominated ‘Udhero Na’, from the deluxe edition of Aftab’s ‘Vulture Prince’ album.
Look out for the full album, Chapter I: Forever, For Now, on October 6, coinciding with the start of her US tour. Shankar will also tour Europe in Spring 2024, tickets available here!