Exclusive Premiere: Singer-Songwriter Shilpa Ananth Takes Avant-Pop Route with ‘Align 2.0’ Video

Just over a year after the release of her calming yet soul-searching single “Align,” Dubai-bred pop artist Shilpa Ananth offers a remix version of the track with help from Brooklyn producer ARKTKT aka Jarred Barnes. The accompanying music video – directed by filmmaker Ken del Rosario – toys with perceptions of time with the visual splendor of choreography, slick lens work and more.

The Indian-origin artist breathes new life and perspective into the wavy retelling of the song, which she refers to as an “alter ego version.” She reached out to Barnes after having followed his work for some time. Ananth adds, “When the time came to create something next level, I knew that he was the only one who could capture the essence of what I was trying to express through ‘Align 2.0.’” Together, they infuse pounding as well as understated beats and wavy vocal melodies, retaining the seemingly Carnatic-informed hook on the track. Pointing towards Afro-pop and more up-tempo music influencing the remix, Ananth adds, “Our intention was to flip this version on its head but also stay close to the spiritual, soulful pocket that was signature to the original.”

The music video for “Align 2.0” builds from the original version’s monochromatic visual aesthetic, with Ananth accompanied by dancers with a hourglass within her grasp. The scene transforms twice over, with Ananth noting that there is a “peaceful resolution derived from finally following nature and breaking from the worlds of time.”

Ananth’s second EP Reproduction – following up 2015’s Indian Soul – is currently set to release in the Fall of 2021. She adds, “I have three more new single and music video releases coming up […] These are some crazy, unprecedented, and unstable times, but that kind of existence is nothing new to any professional artist.”

Watch the video for “Align 2.0” below. Stream the song here.