On the occasion of Earth Day on April 22, sarod artiste Soumik Datta, who had earlier collaborated with international pop stars like Beyonce, Jay-Z, Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh and Anoushka Shankar, released his new single, ‘Tiger Tiger’. This new single, the concluding part of his EP Jangal — continues with the theme of deforestation and climate change crisis.
The campaign, #ArtistForTheEarth by Earth Day Network aims to widen greater awareness for the environment through music.
Jangal is a vibrant tangle of musical influences and styles with the planet at the centre of it. Talking about the inspiration behind his latest single, released via Soumik Datta Arts, London-based Soumik, also a composer and television presenter elaborates, “‘Tiger Tiger’ is the finale to my previous EP Jangal . Responding to the critical loss of biodiversity, my music uses the sarod woven in with instruments and musical styles from Brazil, India, Malaysia — where forests are being cleared at alarming rates. Drums from the Amazon region blended with tribal woodwinds from northeast India, tabla, sarod and electronics create a protest of sound.”
Soumik who plays the 19-stringed fretless sarod add , “Wildlife all over the world is under stress. What we face today is the consequence of that — locked down and under threat from COVID-19. The more we disturb forests and natural habitats, the more danger we are in.”
Talking about his roots Soumik says, “I’m from Bengal, which at the point was the land of tigers. But the Sundarban delta on the eastern coast of India is yet another climate hotspot and holds just a few of these majestic animals now. Perhaps culturally, I identify with the tiger the most. For me, this wild beast, more than any other, symbolises the immense power of Nature. By wearing the mask, the song becomes a voice for all the endangered, hunted and marginalised creatures of our world.”
The EP ‘Jangal’, which released in November 2019, is available on all streaming platforms like YouTube Music, Apple Music, Spotify, Vevo, among others worldwide.
