Exclusive First Listen: Tarun Balani Reflects On His Sindhi Roots On 'Lajpat Nagar Sometimes'

Tarun Balani has been expressing his artistic voice through two parallel channels: his solo live-electronica, which in the past years he had put forth via the project Seasonal Affected Beats, and the longer-running jazz-inspired work under his own name with his band, Dharma. While his solo work centres itself conceptually around climate change and its response on an individual and collective level - the latter gives him an outlet to reflect on personal stories.

On his 4th studio album 'Kadahin Milandaasin' (translating to "when will we meet?") as Tarun Balani, the New Delhi-based producer-composer, drummer and educator turns to his most personal story yet: the collective grief and journey of his ancestral roots which trace back to his grandfather emigrating from Naushahro Feroze to Delhi along with a chunk of populace from the Sindh region in the wake of the harrowing partition between India and Pakistan.

Balani introduces the album, which releases on May 16 via Berthold Records, with the single 'Lajpat Nagar Sometimes' – sharing it exclusively via Wild City ahead of its release on April 2.

The track is a homage to the New Delhi locality where refugees from Sindh, including Tarun's parents and grandparents, settled and continues to see an influx of immigrants from regions like Afghanistan and Africa. In the area, Tarun's grandfather set up his painting studio which Tarun now uses to create music (the building also served as a former location of Global Music Institute, the educational institute founded by Tarun and his brother Aditya Balani).

"There’s a unique vibe and energy in the space that I feel is particularly conducive to my work. I also grew up in this house, so there’s a comfort and familiarity that allows me to take artistic and creative risks—risks I’m not sure another space would afford me," says Tarun.

While it keeps the melting pot of cultures that is Lajpat Nagar in mind alongside the cultural identity and memory Tarun's forefathers brought to it, the composition doesn't throw overtly exotic melodies or timbres from the region to bring up its essence. It rather focuses and keeps itself to reflect the universal emotion of grief that underlies the story and its scattered populace. Over a slight pulse of Tarun's cymbal and pianist Sharik Hasan's chords, trumpeter Farill and guitarist Olli Farill paint melodies while the rest of the drums with the help of the bass create textures and respond with rhythmic motifs. The assembly carries a sense of intimate loss but with the wistfulness that usually accompanies telling stories that span long times and talk of distant lands.

Tarun continues: "I feel like my music reflects Lajpat Nagar: a mix of cultures, identities, and worlds that may not seem to belong together at first glance. But if you look closely, there are many similarities."

Listen to 'Lajpat Nagar sometimes' above and follow Tarun Balani for more information.

Image by Mohit Kapil