‘Compass Box Music: Unboxed, Vol. 4’ Gathers Rising Indie Artists in the Ahmedabad Studio

On the fourth edition of Compass Box Music’s Unboxed compilation album, the Ahmedabad studio founded by producer Raag Sethi brings in a fresh batch of indie artists to create tempered, soulful new versions of their songs.

Ranging from jazz to acoustic-led pop, soul, R&B and blues, there’s a lot at play within tracks by M.S. Krsna, Manan Mehta, Harish Budhwani, Jhanvi Soni, Shrae and Tshering Bhutia. They’re joined by Sethi, plus Ahmedabad artists such as guitarist-composer Chirag Todi, singer-songwriter Meera Desai, multi-instrumentalist Protyay Chakraborty, drummers Shivang Kapadia and Pritul Chauhan, woodwinds by Harmish Joshi, guitarist Shankar Iyer and bassist Daidipiya Seth, among others.

The draw of Compass Box Music: Unboxed songs are in their one-take recorded performance. It’s one that Sethi says in a statement is about “capturing the raw energy and authenticity of every performance.” He adds, “Our goal was to provide a platform for indie artists to showcase their immense talent while breaking the boundaries of language and genre. The album spans multiple languages like Tamil, English, and Hindi, creating a harmonious blend of rich cultural expressions.”

The compilation album opens with Chennai artist M.S. Krsna’s buoyant Tamil song “Maranthathey,” one that incorporates everything from violin to horn sections to a whistled hook. Jaipur singer-songwriter Manan Mehta’s song “Wrong Time” gets a lush, jazz arrangement, with cheery backing vocals from Desai, plus a strong saxophone lead by Joshi. Pune singer-songwriter Harish Budhwani brings a change in mood, language and temperament on the record with “Pehli Dafa.” His powerful vocals drive the song right to the end, matched by Desai’s vocals and flute and clarinet helmed by Joshi. It’s an example of just how subtle arrangements can go a long way as well.

There’s more subtlety on singer-songwriter Jhanvi Soni’s melancholy yet breakfree song “Underwater,” and Compass Box gang of musicians get back to cooler shades of Jazz on Mumbai artist Shrae‘s “‘Bout You,” which is as much playful as it is hopeful. Ahmedabad’s own Tshering Bhutia rounds off the record with a lush storytime track called “Trespasser,” which is described as a “cute girl meets girl plot.” The Compass Box version brings in clarinet as well as violin, heightening the emotive quotient.

Listen to the compilation below.