10 Oct In Conversation With: Isheeta Chakrvarty – Ek Sutra
The ‘In Conversation with’ series brings to you the stories of various creative professionals from the music industry and provides a glimpse into their journeys. Today’s conversation with Isheeta Chakrvarty explores her experience working on her upcoming EP release – Ek Sutra.
A conversation with Isheeta Chakrvarty lets you into her process as an artist, speaking with grace, truthfulness, and dedication to her craft. Hailing from Calcutta and now residing in Mumbai, Isheeta grew up surrounded by music. At the age of thirteen, she took guidance and training under Kaushiki Chakraborty and found it inspiring to see a woman like that command a presence on stage. “I have always wanted to find a voice which is distinctly my own. Artists like Shoba Gurtu, Abida Parveen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan have inspired me more by the way they express and the conviction of the same rather than their singing. Finding my voice has been the primary focus. Not just the physical voice, there is a voice inside us that wants to come out, something I have always been in search of.”
In 2010, Isheeta heard Sarah Vaughn’s ‘Misty’ and that was her introduction to Jazz. “Jazz was a happy accident. It sounded exciting because it was nothing like I had heard before. I remember wanting to explore more of it and within the next few days a friend said Carlton Kitto was looking for a vocalist for his Jazz band, so on weekends I would sing at a hotel gig with Carlton’s band”. Both Hindustani music and Jazz have shaped Isheeta’s artistry and musical journey, nevertheless she feels that Ek Sutra goes beyond the genre and stands on its own. “Ek Sutra is one step ahead in this journey, and I am finally reaching a place where I can drop limits and the idea of how it should be. It consists more of a global soundscape.”
Genesis
Isheeta explains the concept of the album as “Sutra is a thread; a thread of an idea or a thought connecting one to another. The music of Ek Sutra explores the thread connecting the heart of the Seeker to the truth and wisdom laid down by the Masters.” The EP started when Isheeta met with Viveick Rajagopalan in 2019. “When I met Viveick, I was recomposing a song by Kabir called ‘Haman Hai Ishq Mastana’ by keeping the words but changing the melody. Viveick and I started to meet every week for songwriting sessions and see what emerges. When I went with the song to his place he suggested only taking the core message while rewriting the lyrics and melody around the essence. That was the seed of the EP, we worked with traditional pieces and with the words of truth and wisdom by Kabir and Tukaram, the masters.” Ek Sutra is quite a personal project for Isheeta and a devotional one. “I wanted to understand my personal experience in relation to their words because if I am to sing exactly the words they have sung, it is still their realization not mine. They have laid down the truth, and what is my experience of that truth? That is the ethos of the EP.”
The EP consists of four tracks titled ‘Recognition’, ‘Surrender’, ‘Celebration’, and ‘Ode to the Devi’. At the very core, it is an individual and sacred journey as it talks about recognizing the truth existing within. “While working on the EP, I was on a personal and spiritual journey. How do I look for inspiration and answers? Where do I begin? And sitting with it, I realized the only way was to turn the camera inside. It was the process of diving deeper into myself that curtains started to open and waves started to move, and I tapped into that feeling of being lost.”
Collaboration
The EP is a collaboration of remarkable and talented artists such as Viveick Rajagopalan, Ria Modak, Harmeet Manseta, Umesh Warbhuwan, Karim Ziad, and many more. “We wanted to work with musicians having a good vibe because that reflects in the music. Especially when you’re creating something which is talking about your inner spaces, the idea of human existence, and humanity. All the artists and collaborations are another Sutra helping to hold the sound together.” Isheeta also performed the ‘EK SUTRA Premiere: Live in Concert’ before the work was published. “One of the primary artists on this EP is an incredible guitar player called Ria Modak. Based in New York, she was coming to India in August, which seemed like the perfect opportunity for the concert as I didn’t want to do it without her. That is the importance each collaboration and artist has played in this EP. It was one of the most beautiful concerts I have played. We had a sold-out show, and people had to leave as it was all packed. There was so much grace flowing, and I had so much support from the audience.”
Viveick Rajagopalan has been a prominent figure throughout the journey of this EP, from the songwriting process to the production. “I have a lot to learn from Viveick, in many ways, we handcrafted the sound on this EP. I would go to his place, and not much would be accomplished, no music, no lyrics but just deep conversations. These conversations gradually led to this EP, and the inspiration has been in these conversations.” When asked which song from the EP was closest to her, Isheeta brings up the first track, ‘Recognition’. “The one I wrote lyrics to is quite special. That song makes sense every time as it was personal and also the first song I composed for this EP. It is a song people loved in the concert and is special to me.”
“Art is personal, and so is this EP. It is a way for me to bear my soul out. At the same time, even though it is a personal journey, it is also a universal one. I would love my audience to listen, and I hope it moves you in whatever way because that is the point. I don’t make music for myself, it is from my heart to yours. There is a lot of love and life in this process and I share that with you”. Ek Sutra released on all digital platforms globally on Oct 6th, 2022 with tracks that share a glimpse into Isheeta’s journey.
Written by Naman
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