Verse by verse, refrain by refrain, singer-songwriter Ditty unfolds the uncomfortable layers of society in a sonic house so melodically comforting that it lulls the listener of her new album, KĀLĪ, right into a dream of an excellent world. Alas, the escape solely lasts 10 songs, however the impression of her lyrics casts an extended shadow on themes associated together with her migrant previous, race, gender, spirituality and sense of environmentalism.
In the making for almost 5 years, the concept of the album was conceived through the pandemic. “The pandemic made us pause and reflect, and it initiated the creation of the album for me. At the time, I didn’t know it was going to become this big piece of work. I wanted to write about slowing down as a society, patriarchy, dehumanisation, I wanted to speak about hope, freedom, collectivism and simultaneously comment on political mishaps, because these are all interconnected. We are living in a climate emergency and the structures around us are collapsing. These themes are ever present in the record,” she says.
Based in Berlin, Ditty has recorded all the songs of the album in two languages: Hindi and English. It has been mounted on the label, Clouds Hill, in Hamburg, Germany. “Writing and making the record was quite organic and evolved with life circumstances. I wrote most songs on the guitar, which happens to be my primary instrument. Then I would make demos, add trumpets and keys and take it to the band. In these years, a lot changed — my old band with Bowls and Karan doesn’t exist anymore, although they were an integral part of producing the record. I moved to Berlin meanwhile, and found musicians here to work with. We arranged the songs together, and I recorded the album half-half in India and Europe,” she provides.
Ditty tags KĀLĪ as an audio-visual document. It options her long-time collaborator and producer Bowls, recognized for his work in the Indian indie band Peter Cat Recording Company (PCRC), alongside drummers Andi Haberl, of Germany’s legendary indie-electronica band The Notwist, and Karan Singh of PCRC. Also on the document is Johannes Weber, who performs bass. Apart from voice, guitars, trumpets, cello, synths, double bass, digital bass, drums and percussion like ghungroos and coco/toca seeds, the album additionally has a number of samples and discipline recordings from forests like Aravallis (Rajasthan and Delhi), Pomburpa forest (Goa), Mollem forest (Goa) and Plänterwald forest (Berlin), informs Ditty.
KALI Album artwork
| Photo Credit:
Special association
The album is named after its title observe ‘KĀLĪ’, which has a deeply private lyrical undertone. Ditty explains: “When I started writing the song, ‘KĀLĪ’, it was clear to me this would be the title of the album. KĀLĪ translates to several meanings, including darkness, black woman and goddess KĀLĪ who slays demons in Hindu philosophy. I am drawing from my experiences with racism and colourism, writing about the climate catastrophes of the times that we live in, singing in praise of the natural world and working with making recordings outdoors on this album.” The tune doesn’t simply make it to the title of the album, but additionally to her checklist of favourites, solely adopted by ‘DUNYA (For our children)’ and ‘Mamma’. While ‘DUNYA (For our children)’ propounds the impression of genocide, hyper capitalism and dictatorship on the longer term generations, ‘Mamma’ is all about turning into one with Nature.
With themes and songs consciously curated, Ditty has been aware of packing her music in an eco-friendly avatar too. KĀLĪ has been launched on recycled colored vinyl as a restricted version urgent with solely 500 copies. The album’s cowl showcases Menty Jamir’s picture of Ditty in the forests of Aravallis. She was styled by Caroline Zeliang in her personal marriage ceremony sari and grandmother’s jewelry. The album’s format and design was carried out by Ditty. “It is important to me that all the work I do is ethically sound and consciously created. I just wrapped up my 14 city tour here in Europe, and I am really proud that we were able to do this without any flights or oil and gas. I never wanted to make CDs or Vinyl Records because they were plastic. After a lot of research, I found a press here in Germany that’s working with waste and is creating 100% recycled records for me. I am really thrilled about this,” she says.
The album, KĀLĪ, is now streaming on all music platforms. You can order the vinyl, beginning at €28 on heyyditty.bandcamp.com or ditty.co.in.
Published – May 16, 2025 05:51 pm IST
