Bhrigu Sahni’s New Album ‘Awakening’ Offers Meditative Ambient Folk Songs

Singer-songwriter Bhrigu Sahni creates a calm and introspective album Awakening, born out of his own experiences and meditations. With lush textures, roomy reverb and even a Marathi song “Aye Bhava,” the album settles into a new age and ambient folk space, unlike something we’ve ever heard from the Pune artist.

Awakening comes into the Indian music realm at a time when artists are often seeking the fastest, most adventurous ways to capture the listener’s attention, creating shorter songs with even shorter hooks. Sahni, for his part, runs in the opposite direction with his spiritual, journeying music. Described as an “ethereal folk” album, a press release adds, “It is a collection of songs about a spiritual awakening – a state of illumination in which the artist longs to be.”

The opening song off Awakening is “Higher,” which ushers listeners in like one would at the start of a meditation with airy percussion, ambience and flute going over guitars by Sahni. Berklee Indian Ensemble founder Annette Philip – singing under the moniker Zahara – takes a measured approach with her vocals. Sahni says about the track, “This song was written right after a deep meditation. It carries an aspiration of being in a higher place where one belongs, which is peaceful and calling one to be higher.”

After Philip, New York-based singer-composer Priya Darshini joins Sahni on the somewhat ominous-toned philosophizing song “To Be.” Sahni terms the song as an “ode to making a lifelong decision to be present and not lose oneself in one’s mind.” Spurred by awareness, the song comes across as an epiphany that swerves between firm thoughts and seemingly formless sonic elements.

“Believe,” featuring Gouri Ranjit, is poignant in its intent, written after Sahni says he had a fallout with his parents. “They harbored a feeling of, ‘How he will make it as a musician… How will he support himself?’ [I] took to his art to channel those energies and what came out was ‘Believe.’ This song is a message to believe in yourself when no one else does.”

If the English flow of songs had set the tone on Awakening, “Aye Bhava” in Marathi comes across as a refreshing new dimension. “This song is an ode to a childhood friendship. Some friendships do not stand the test of time but are never forgotten from memories, for they are so special,” Sahni says. While the title track that follows is written in Sahni’s Brooklyn apartment after what he calls a literal “eureka moment.” The final track on the album, “Theme No 1” was inspired by jazz great John Coltrane’s seminal album Giant Steps, specifically with the use of “three neighboring key signatures to create an interesting use of harmonic function,” Sahni says.

Listen to ‘Awakening’ below.