Bijayashree Samal is excited and for good reason. His Hindi song ‘Chand Ke Phool’ was one of the three singles selected to promote the album internationally, Beyond Music Vol.3 – Conflict Launch June 17th. Arranged and produced by four-time Grammy Award winner Michael League and Bill Laurance (of the group Snarky Puppy), along with Nic Legacy and Gonzalo Donoso Quiroga, the album is based on the theme of conflict. Depicting conflict through music, the album features 16 tracks by 54 artists from 40 countries.

“The producers decided to release three promotional singles before the album’s release. I am lucky that ‘Chand Ke Phool’ is one of the tracks that will be released worldwide as a single and a video,” shared Bijayashree, via email interaction. The Swiss-based singer is also part of the Nandighosha group which produces and performs music where authentic Indian classical meets jazz.

‘Chand Ke Phool’ was drafted in the summer of 2021, in a hotel room, while Bijayashree visited India. During quarantine, he received an email from Canadian musician Nic Legacy inviting him to work on the project. At first, he was reluctant because he faced a difficult stage where he lost his father, stepmother and three other close relatives. . “I was just trying to get back to a normal life,” he recalls. Final production of the song begins in December 2021.

various musicians

Artists involved in Beyond Music Vol.3 – Conflict they are as diverse as their views on conflict issues. “His approach to musical leitmotif is also different,” explains Bijayashree. One song addresses the ‘global refugee crisis, the other focuses on the ‘ecological conflict between humans and planet Earth’, he explains, ‘Some songs embody ‘conflict’ through their instrumental arrangements, others through the clash of different musical styles. The track deals with the inner turmoil associated with the challenge of finding one’s place in this turbulent world. Composition is a method for managing conflict and turning it into music, the language that connects us all. This album is a blend of funk, jazz, pop, and world music.

‘Chand Ke Phool’ is written by Nic, Bijayashree (Indian lyrics) and Gonzalo. The song features Nic on the glockenspiel and dholak, Gonzalo on the ukulele, and ofie Kašparová (Czech Republic) on the flute. “We are very different in our training, but our sensitivity to music and humanity is the same. We have become good friends. While working on this song, they discovered different aspects of each other’s music. »

Bijayashree explains that this unique Indian/Andean cumbia song was inspired by the ‘Giant Impact Hypothesis’, a theory that states that the earth and moon were once a single planet that was split in half by a cataclysmic collision with another planet. . “This song is about hope and belief to make things possible in the midst of difficulties, fears, complexities and limitations, and to rise above inner conflicts to reach higher levels. »

Music as a passion and a profession

Bijayashree teaches classical Hindustani singing at Ateliers d’ethnomusicologie, in Geneva and Zurich, and online. When making music for a recent one Offender serial for Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) Switzerland, he is also a freelance music contributor to commercial projects.

The album’s previous international date was in 2019 with five-time Grammy-winning producer Larry Klein for the album. The same sky, Vol1 (Beyond Music) which charted on the iTunes World Music Chart, #1 in the US, and in the Top 10 internationally. The video for the song ‘Our Colors’ in which she participates as a singer/songwriter, was published by Billboard magazine. The album was submitted to the Grammys in two categories: “Best World Music Album” and “Producer of the Year” (non-classical).