Vasuda Sharma Delights with Delicate and Breezy Tunes on New Album ‘Ukustic Tales’
The record is the Mumbai-based musician’s first full-length since 2013’s ‘Attuned Spirits’
Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Vasuda Sharma. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
During the last year and a half, Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Vasuda Sharma—who also fronts indie band Sharma and the Besharams—stayed confined to her home due to the pandemic. Sharma says, “The lockdown honestly came as a blessing in disguise as I had a lot of time on me to write, compose and produce new music.” The artist also used the time to hone her skills as a vocalist and producer, and has now shared with the world some of those learnings with the release of her brand-new ukulele-aided full-length album entitled Ukustic Tales.
According to Sharma, creating songs with just the help of a ukulele has been on her mind for the longest time. The singer was also inspired by American rockers Pearl Jam’s vocalist Eddie Vedder’s 2011 solo album Ukulele Songs and says, “I wanted to create songs with raw and vulnerable vocals with minimalistic arrangements.”
Ukustic Tales comes eight years after Sharma’s debut full-length album Attuned Spirits and includes songs from her repertoire that she tells us were “tailormade to create that breezy and dulcet soundscape.” Work on the record began this past July, with Sharma completing the recording process last month. “The idea was to keep it easy, soothing and relaxed.”
The album—which features songs in English and Hindi—opens with the melodious “Achcha Hai” before we hear the more upbeat “Meri Zindagi.” Next, we’re treated to a uke version of the Sharma and the Besharams single “Bas Thodi Der Aur” followed by the harmony-laden “Yakeen Hai.” Sharma has also pulled songs from Attuned Spirits such as “Cruel World” and “Never Lose Heart” and has given the tracks a new lease of life coated in ukulele goodness. The album then closes with the dynamic “Too Good to Be True.” On the overall lyrical approach to the album, Sharma says, “It tells stories about love in its unrequited as well as reciprocated forms, love for life and faith in the way things turn out in life.”
Sharma recorded, produced and mixed almost the entire album herself at her home studio, except for the ukulele solos wherein she enlisted help from her musician friends. With around 50 songs under her belt over the last 10 years released either as a solo performer, with her band or as a collaborator, Sharma tells us that she is still growing and learning as an artist. “A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there,” she says.
To help promote Ukustic Tales, Sharma is working on animated lyric videos for all the tracks and is also plotting a couple of solo gigs. So what else does the artist have lined up? There’s a new single in the works as well as a collaboration with fellow singer-songwriter Arnav Maggo. With regards to Sharma and the Besharams, the musician says, “A rock n’ roll single is gathering its necessary ingredients to get baked and glazed, hopefully by January next year.”
Stream ‘Ukustic Tales’ on Spotify below and on other platforms.
