The last months of 2017 were a busy end to a wonderfully productive year. As well as coordinating my forthcoming album release I filmed a new music video, which is now in production and will be released soon.
The video shoot took place at the epic and beautiful Al Qudra Lake to the South of Dubai. The Lake is home to hundreds of species of birds and spreads out for over ten hectares in the middle of the Saih Al Salam Desert. My trusted Director, Mrinal, flew in from Mumbai, India especially for the shoot. For this project, we made the decision to work with a very streamlined crew and production company. The small team allowed us to make decisions quickly, change location within a day’s work and achieve incredibly early starts to catch the magical desert sunrise. We completed the shoot in just two days of on-site work. Each day I rose at 02:00 to allow enough time to have my hair and make-up done and leave to arrive on location by 04:30. Working in the desert was demanding to say the least. As well as being at the mercy of natural light, singing and walking whilst sand blows into your face is a skill I’m yet to fully master. That said, our time in the desert was inspiring and fun in equal measure. The next day we headed for the Old Town and captured ambient moments of daily life in the busy quarter alongside landscape shots of the skyline. Dubai is where my immediate family and myself call home so it has been a very special experience to record one of my music video’s here.
As the year ended, naturally I began to cement some very exciting plans for 2018 including an international release with Martin ‘YOUTH’ Glover’s label, Suriya Recordings. Suriya is partnered with the iconic San Francisco label, Six Degrees Records. This is a huge achievement for me and has the potential to connect my spiritual Kirtan music and the work of Kirtan for Causes with the hearts of many more brothers and sisters around the world. I’m very pleased to announce the official release date of the CD will be 7th May 2018. Keep reading my blogs for updates on the release in the coming months.
The book I am writing is moving along well as I reach the first draft stage. I have also been enjoying writing poetry and thought pieces lately. Most notably in November, I published an article I wrote on my first-hand experience of the complicated birth of my son. The journal proved popular and very moving with women in my extended network who have had similar experiences. The positive reactions and thanks I received for writing this piece reminded me once again of my potential power and place as a woman in contemporary society. By speaking out on taboo topics, feminism can take leaps and bounds forward in the coming years. Along with my advocacy for education in rural Punjab via Kirtan for Causes and my work to ensure access to menstrual supplies and information on periods via Binti, I resolve this coming year will be filled with speaking my mind and penning powerful words about my lived experience as a woman in the 21st century. Roll on 2018 – it’s going to be a good year.