Watch Shilpa Ananth Break Free in Trippy Video for ‘Fear’
The Dubai-bred, Brooklyn-based singer-composer wrangles with victimization on her latest single
Vocalist-composer Shilpa Ananth. Photo: Marta Lamovsek
Continuing her strongly introspective songwriting style, singer and composer Shilpa Ananth’s new release “Fear” showcases a story about a protagonist mired in self-doubt and lamentations.
Combining the intensity of Indian percussion with her distinctive Carnatic-informed vocal melodies, “Fear” swirls into a roomy groove-fest with funky bass and drum work. The outro for the song queues up boisterous folk beats, reminiscent of the Tamil-origin dappan kothu style. The song was produced and mixed by Drew ofthe Drew, the bassist who joined Ananth on her India tour in January 2020.
Ananth, who previously released a remix of her single “Align” this year, opens her account with new music after quite a wait. She says in a statement, “‘Fear’ is a story about a woman that has been a victim her entire life, controlled by her regrets and everything she is too afraid to say or do, constantly haunted by the choices she never made and the traps she keeps falling into.”
The music video for “Fear,” directed by Mumbai-based filmmaker and producer Suruchi Sharma of Studio Ainak, contains metaphors and direct references to the lyrical themes of strife. Shot in Rajasthan in early 2020, we see Ananth in a mela setting, complete with a car and bikes running stunts in a dome and joined by artists from the local Sahariya tribe. VFX, fashion and makeup highlight different states of the protagonist (played by Ananth) as she finds her way.
The singer-composer adds in a statement, “The song and video were both completed just before the first official lockdown of 2020 and since then it has been sitting in the vault for over a year because I didn’t feel like it was the right time to release but the reason why I have put this out now because I am done with my inner fear taking control of my narrative.”
“Fear” is distributed by South Asian-centric platform and label maajja and will be followed by Ananth’s upcoming EP Reproduction next year.
Watch the video for “Fear” below. Stream the song here.
