Ananya Birla Announces Her Debut Album ‘Bombay Basement’, Dons The Director Hat For The Music Video Of The Lead Track Of The Album

Mumbai, 25th September 2021– Fresh off the success of her recent release alongside AR Rahman, official Cheer4India song of the Indian contingent for the Tokyo Olympics, ‘Hindustani Way’, the multi-platinum singer-songwriter is preparing for the launch of her new album.

Titled ‘Bombay Basement’, the 6-track immersive compilation will be released on her YouTube channel and across all major streaming platforms in October 2021.

The entire album which was conjured up during the pandemic, hints at themes such as self-love, racial discrimination and toxic relationships in a nonconformist manner. Weaving in influences of breakbeat, pop, jazz, blues and R&B, the catalogue of radio-ready jams showcases the popstars sonic evolution whilst attempting to break free from the confines of language and genre.

Ahead of the full release, she shared the music video of the lead track from the album ‘When I’m Alone’ today which marks her maiden innings as a music video director!  The relatable video aesthetically captures personal vignettes from Ananya’s life from her childhood besties to her first date and other defining life moments that made her who she is today.

Watch the song here:

Elaborating on how the album shaped up the popstar states, “Bombay Basement was borne out of a jam session in the basement of my Bombay residence, with a couple of friends. I had a lot I wanted to write about and share and it all just kind of clicked. The range of the songs take you through multiple shared emotions but through the lens of my individual experiences. Over the last few months, I’ve witnessed a number of life-altering experiences that nudged me to retrospect on the experiences that have shaped me. Life is a series of transactions, some that occur to shape you and some that teach you how change is the only constant.”

Expanding further on the progression of her artistry on this project she says, “In the accompanying music videos I’ve tried to lend a more personalized touch and give my fans a slightly unrestricted access into my personal space. I’m excited to see what my fans think of it.”

Influenced by personal anecdotes from Ananya’s life, each of the tracks will have listeners gripped over the course of the next five weeks with a new release scheduled to drop every week!

TRACKLIST

1. When I’m Alone – A reflective track, it explores the concept of self-discovery and how experiences shape perspectives
2. Give Me Up – A retro influenced track about divine timing and soul mate connections
3. Deny Me – Taking potshots at immigration complications for brownskin, this track is a satirical jibe on being hauled up without reason by authorities. It draws direct inferences from Ananya’s personal experience.
4. Do It Anyway – A sonic marriage between pop and jazz, this laidback track sheds light on a toxic love affair that entraps lovers into an addictive narcissistic snare
5. Tu Hi Mera Ghar – Reflecting on the concept of home being less of a place or a person but more of a feeling, this track is the only Hindi one on the album!
6. Old Me – A track that highlights evolution and transition, this one will see Ananya serving some deliciously slick vibes

Ananya is a 27-year-old singer-songwriter from Mumbai, based between Mumbai and Los Angeles, where she is signed to Maverick Management.  An utterly individual voice in the global pop circles, Ananya is the first homegrown artist to go Platinum with an English language track in India and break the dominance of film music on the Indian music scene,  She has hit over 400 million global streams since her debut single in 2016.

Earlier this year, Ananya was picked to create an Olympic Cheer Song for Team India by the Sports Authority of India on which she collaborated with Grammy winning artist AR Rahman. Her songs, ‘Let There Be Love’ and its remix version,  ‘Day Goes By’ with Jamaican-American hitmaker Sean Kingston, all saw a strong reaction from fans and audiences around the world. This followed multi-platinum selling hits, ‘Hold On’, ‘Meant To Be’, ‘Circles’, ‘Livin’ the Life’ (remixed by Afrojack), ‘Better’ and the release of her first EP ‘Fingerprint’ with UMG and Island Records, which included hit single ‘Blackout’ featuring Nigerian hip-hop stars Vector and WurlD.

The self-taught santoor and guitar player has been propelled from low-key gigs around London to performing at some of Asia’s biggest music events including Global Citizen, Oktoberfest and Sunburn, and opening for artists like Wiz Khalifa and Coldplay. Ananya has scaled the charts at home and appeared on major playlists and radio stations in the US, UK, Europe, Australia, the Middle East and SE Asia. She has also collaborated with major producers and writers including Jim Beanz (Rihanna, Demi Lovato, M.I.A), DJ Buddha (Pitbull, Jason Derulo, Afrojack), pop guru Nick Atkinson (Lewis Capaldi, Little Mix), Edd Holloway (Gabrielle Aplin, Lewis Capaldi), Empire State of Mind writer Angela Hunte and Grammy-nominated Mood Melodies.

She set up, Mpower in 2016, which works to stamp out the stigma around mental illness in India and to provide world-class care where there has been little to date. She recently launched one of the first mental health helplines in India for those struggling during the pandemic.

Ananya launched the Ananya Birla Foundation that aims to address education, humanitarian relief, mental health, climate change, equality and financial inclusion, related causes. The Foundation was kicked off with a COVID-19 relief project that involved providing menstruation kits, PPE kits and protective equipment to women and hospitals across Maharashtra.

She also promotes female empowerment through her business Svatantra which helps women entrepreneurs in rural India grow their businesses and become financially independent. Svatantra means ‘freedom’ in Hindi.