Anoushka Maskey And Cosmic Grooves Release Bossa Nova-Inspired Song ‘The Search for Wild Geese’

Although Mumbai-based artists, singer-songwriter Anoushka Maskey and producer Pranay Bakshi aka Cosmic Grooves, have worked on each other’s songs through the years, the duo have now come together to release their collaborative effort, the poignant new track “The Search for Wild Geese.” Maskey says, “This year, we planned to focus more on solo releases, but the songs we make keep bringing us together.” She adds, “The work Pranay and I put into it and the love we were feeling for it drove us to release it as a duo.”

“The Search for Wild Geese” began shaping up when Bengaluru bassist Sahil Mathew sent Maskey and Bakshi his take on the song which leaned towards bossa nova. “Immediately, we knew that was the direction we wanted to take,” says Maskey.

Lyrically, Maskey has penned heavy lyrics that touch upon heartbreak in friendship and how that affects people mentally. “I wanted our listeners to be able to relate to a spiraling mind, but also feel hopeful about the future and not be knocked down by how our minds sometimes make things much worse than they really are,” she says. Maskey is also quick to point out that both Bakshi and her are not jazz musicians, but that this is their first attempt working on a piece that comes close to jazz music. “We only made what felt natural and we were never trying to sound like a certain artist or establish directional rules. We just went with the flow and ended up loving what we came up with,” says the singer.

The new song opens with Maskey counting us in before we hear Mathew’s groovy bass line. Plucked guitar parts juxtaposed with melodic guitar lines by Rinik then chime in as delicate percussion work and Maskey’s radiant vocals lift the track higher. There’s also horn parts that stand out throughout the song.

With live gigs now back in full swing, Maskey has been hitting the stages to perform live at various gigs. Ask the singer-songwriter what it’s like to be back performing regularly and she says, “I have had so much fun performing for smaller and more attentive audiences. I am learning not to be too taken by how confident I feel on bigger stages with larger audiences because turns out it’s the smaller, more intimate gigs that really make you nervous!”

At the moment, Maskey is lining up more releases for 2023 with a folk song, a pop track and an indie-pop song all in the works. “My focus lies on consistent releases, growing my musicianship and taking every gig opportunity in with open arms,” she says.

Stream “The Search for Wild Geese” on Spotify below: