Indian-Origin U.K. Artist Shivali Bhammer on the Far-Reaching Effects of Her Contemporary Bhajans

Bhajans and devotional music are an inseparable part of growing up in an Indian household, but there’s undoubtedly been a need to keep updating them for different audiences, across age and even geographical boundaries. U.K. artist Shivali Bhammer and her co-producer (and childhood friend) Arjun Coomaraswamy know this all too well. When they worked on The Bhajan Project and released it in 2010, it marked a new production and composition interpretation of everything from the Gayatri Mantra and Hanuman Chalisa to “Achutum Kesevam.”

While the Indian market is rife with devotional song renditions by the thousands, Shivali (who goes by her first name as an artist) made a clutter-breaking record in 2010 and followed it up with Urban Temple in 2012. Performing and shooting music videos on the back of these records, the singer finally put out The Bhajan Project 2 last month, teaming up with singer-songwriter Coomaraswamy once again for eight tracks and half an hour of what is called “contemporary bhajans.” Everything from scintillating electronic to R&B, pop and lo-fi treatments are given to devotional songs and believe it or not, they certainly work and have gone a long way in building Shivali’s dedicated fanbase.

In an interview with Rolling Stone India, Shivali talks about the differences between projects, working with Coomaraswamy and the memories that listeners have shared about her renditions. Excerpts:

It’s been 13 years between the two Bhajan Project albums. How do you look back at the first album in the context of this new record? 

Shivali: It’s strange to say but I look back at the first album and feel incredibly proud of it, because it has really stood the test of time and sounds fresh and relevant even when you compare it to my second album, Urban Temple and then this third one, The Bhajan Project 2. As for enormous success – I think that is hard in bhajans, however, I had someone tell me recently that my music was their entire childhood, so I consider that a win! 

You’ve also worked with Arjun once again for this album. What are your inputs usually like for the sonic treatment of these bhajans, considering they cover a few different genres? 

Arjun is deeply creative when it comes to production and I tend to have a direction or vibe that I want the bhajan to evoke. So we start by listening to traditional versions and then I’ll usually have a genre in mind, like R&B, or EDM or pop, and Arjun can quickly start to shape out the sounds. We play around with the melody quite a bit, for example in The Bhajan Project 2, we have created ‘space’ or ‘gaps’ where traditionally there weren’t any, and that has added a different kind of texture and depth to the song, for example in “Raghupati Raghava” and “Om Jai Jagdish Hare.”

As a part of the Indian diaspora, how important is it to interpret these songs in your own way and perhaps give something that both Indians in India and people all over the world enjoy? Have you heard some stories from listeners about their memories attached to your music? 

It’s important to me to really understand the meaning of the songs and also represent them authentically. Every bhajan is chosen for a specific purpose, it is never random! 

I have heard some wonderful stories that are charming and amusing. A mother once told me her baby would only allow her to breastfeed if “Bolo Ram” from The Bhajan Project was playing. I thought that was quite funny! I received a letter from a woman who had broken her leg and insisted that our version of the Hanuman Chalisa be played during the surgery and then the full album was looped in her hospital room upon recovery. Recently I spoke at a school in London and met a number of fans there and I think what touched me the most is that my bhajans had somehow sparked their love of our culture, philosophy and had helped shape their identity growing up. 

Which songs were among the first to have started The Bhajan Project 2? 

Good question, I am trying to remember! “Om Jai Jagdish Hare,” I think that was the first one we did and without a doubt, it is one of my favorites on the album, that and “Paayoji Maine” which is really different. I don’t think I have ever heard a version of “Paayoji Maine” like ours, it is very western in production but so soothing and sweet. 

As someone who’s introduced a new interpretation to bhajans, what is it like consistently keeping at it and trying to create something refreshing compared to what’s already out there?

I think because we were the pioneers, we have always been a step ahead in terms of sound. Also, I think what really works for us is that there is a deep friendship beneath the music between Arjun and I. He is my rakhi brother and we started this musical journey as kids, I think that kind of history works in our favor because we are so familiar with one another and with our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to musicality. Plus, anything made with love somehow sounds fresh, it is when you start doing something simply for the sake of it, that it can sound tired. 

What else is coming up in 2023? Do you have any music videos for these songs or shows coming up? 

We do! We have the “Om Jai Jagdish Hare” music video, which will be released on Ram Navami. It’s a simple video that was shot at the Hare Krishna Mandir in Watford, London, which I have been visiting since childhood. It felt very special to shoot there and kind of like a ‘coming home’ ‘full circle’ feeling especially as my first ever music video, “Bolo Ram,” was shot at the Hare Krishna Mandir in Chowpatty, Mumbai.