Singer-songwriter Ditty’s new album is all about environment, society, gender and everything in between
The Hindu
Named after its title track, Ditty’s 10-track album KĀLĪ explores themes related with her migrant past, race, gender, spirituality and sense of environmentalism
Verse by verse, chorus by chorus, singer-songwriter Ditty unfolds the uncomfortable layers of society in a sonic space so melodically comforting that it lulls the listener of her new album, KĀLĪ, into a dream of an ideal world. Alas, the escape only lasts 10 songs, but the impact of her lyrics casts a long shadow on themes related with her migrant past, race, gender, spirituality and sense of environmentalism.
In the making for nearly five years, the idea of the album was conceived during the pandemic. “The pandemic made us pause and reflect, and it initiated the creation of the album for me. At the time, I didn’t know it was going to become this big piece of work. I wanted to write about slowing down as a society, patriarchy, dehumanisation, I wanted to speak about hope, freedom, collectivism and simultaneously comment on political mishaps, because these are all interconnected. We are living in a climate emergency and the structures around us are collapsing. These themes are ever present in the record,” she says.
Based in Berlin, Ditty has recorded all the songs of the album in two languages: Hindi and English. It has been mounted on the label, Clouds Hill, in Hamburg, Germany. “Writing and making the record was quite organic and evolved with life circumstances. I wrote most songs on the guitar, which happens to be my primary instrument. Then I would make demos, add trumpets and keys and take it to the band. In these years, a lot changed — my old band with Bowls and Karan doesn’t exist anymore, although they were an integral part of producing the record. I moved to Berlin meanwhile, and found musicians here to work with. We arranged the songs together, and I recorded the album half-half in India and Europe,” she adds.
Ditty tags KĀLĪ as an audio-visual record. It features her long-time collaborator and producer Bowls, known for his work in the Indian indie band Peter Cat Recording Company (PCRC), alongside drummers Andi Haberl, of Germany’s legendary indie-electronica band The Notwist, and Karan Singh of PCRC. Also on the record is Johannes Weber, who plays bass. Apart from voice, guitars, trumpets, cello, synths, double bass, electronic bass, drums and percussion like ghungroos and coco/toca seeds, the album also has several samples and field recordings from forests like Aravallis (Rajasthan and Delhi), Pomburpa forest (Goa), Mollem forest (Goa) and Plänterwald forest (Berlin), informs Ditty.
The album is named after its title track ‘KĀLĪ’, which has a deeply personal lyrical undertone. Ditty explains: “When I started writing the song, ‘KĀLĪ’, it was clear to me this would be the title of the album. KĀLĪ translates to several meanings, including darkness, black woman and goddess KĀLĪ who slays demons in Hindu philosophy. I am drawing from my experiences with racism and colourism, writing about the climate catastrophes of the times that we live in, singing in praise of the natural world and working with making recordings outdoors on this album.” The song does not just make it to the title of the album, but also to her list of favourites, only followed by ‘DUNYA (For our children)’ and ‘Mamma’. While ‘DUNYA (For our children)’ propounds the impact of genocide, hyper capitalism and dictatorship on the future generations, ‘Mamma’ is all about becoming one with Nature.
With themes and songs consciously curated, Ditty has been mindful of packing her music in an eco-friendly avatar too. KĀLĪ has been released on recycled coloured vinyl as a limited edition pressing with only 500 copies. The album’s cover showcases Menty Jamir’s photo of Ditty in the forests of Aravallis. She was styled by Caroline Zeliang in her own wedding sari and grandmother’s jewellery. The album’s layout and design was done by Ditty. “It is important to me that all the work I do is ethically sound and consciously created. I just wrapped up my 14 city tour here in Europe, and I am really proud that we were able to do this without any flights or oil and gas. I never wanted to make CDs or Vinyl Records because they were plastic. After a lot of research, I found a press here in Germany that’s working with waste and is creating 100% recycled records for me. I am really thrilled about this,” she says.
The album, KĀLĪ, is now streaming on all music platforms. You can order the vinyl, starting at €28 on heyyditty.bandcamp.com or ditty.co.in.
