Suman Sridhar Blurs Musical Genres & Boundaries With EP ‘The Black Mamba’
11 September 2023
Suman Sridhar, singer-songwriter-producer, recently released an EP titled ‘The Black Mamba’, which was previewed at the prestigious Tate Modern Museum.
The EP is notable for its genre-bending sound, including elements of jazz, hip-hop, afrobeat and Indian classical music. Known for her reworks on Bollywood soundtracks like ‘Khoya Khoya Chand’ and ‘Hawa Hawai’ on 2011’s ‘Shaitan’ and her rendition of ‘Evening In Gay Maharashtra’, Sridhar traverses language on the new EP, exploring societal themes like the negative effects of globalisation, consumerism and the patriarchy, providing a viewpoint on contemporary issues faced by humanity.
The music is categorised as “worldbeat”, which typically refers to a genre that incorporates musical elements from different cultures and regions, bringing together various performance traditions to create an eclectic sound. Characterised by vocal crescendos and counterpoint melodies, the songs in the EP comprise depth, transcending traditional musical boundaries through an urban contemporary sound.
Listen to ‘The Black Mamba’ EP below and head to Suman Sridhar’s artist profile for more information.
Artwork photography by Sam Mohan and Artwork by Noosh Like Sploosh and Kunal Anand
Words by Urmimala Mukherjee