‘Promise of the Light’ opulently serves as the curtain-raiser for the singer-songwriter’s upcoming EP titled ‘City of My Heart,’ slated to drop in 2025.
Musician Abhibyanjana, who hails from Gangtok in Sikkim, is known to cobble together reflective soundscapes in her music productions and delve into themes of girlhood, disillusionment with systems, identity, and generational trauma.
Post the release of her bilingual (Nepali/English) dream-pop score ‘Body,’ the singer has assembled a grandiose production seasoned with spoken word, alternative-indie, and electronica motifs in ‘Promise of the Light.’
Supported by the Serendipity Arts Foundation, this composition was initially devised as a spoken-word piece and explores the weight of inherited challenges and generational trauma while also shining as a beacon of hope amid darkness. Opening against a backdrop in the wilderness with birds tweeting, Abhibyanjana’s glossy vocals ensue over a melancholy rhythm. Seamed with an alternative-electronic approach, the music is rife with wistful sonics perfectly echoing the heavy-themed lyrics.
Although ‘Promise of the Light’ serves as the lead track from Abhibyanjana’s impending four-song venture, it sits last on the record. In an open and honest email exchange with us, the artist communicated, “It was conceived as a spoken word to introduce the music, in a way to set the context for where I come from as an individual. But now it stands as the last track to show that evolution from feelings of alienation, and isolation to that of hope, a desire to fight for life. To live.”
“It happened quite organically,” the singer states, touching on this switch from a spoken-word piece to an impressive evocative melody. “When I was plucking some chords on my guitar and this melody made sense with this piece. I began using it as an intro to a couple of my live sets and soon it had drums and now it’s turned into a great song, I feel.”
We swerved the conversation onto her EP and the artist gladly gave us an in-depth peek into its production, also opening up on how the environment and circumstances around her helped mold her songwriting. The EP took roughly a year to produce and Abhibyanjana wrote all the songs on her guitar while taking up residence in Mumbai, but for the title track ‘City of My Heart.’
She voiced, “The EP came to life during one of the lowest points in my life when I felt completely disconnected from the city around me. While it is deeply personal, I’m someone, who like many, is disillusioned by the system we live in – be it capitalistic or patriarchal – In that sense the songs talk about these issues.”
Removing the cloche on her unreleased songs, Abhibyanjana told us the EP harbors a tune dedicated to her mother called ‘Powerless,’ which alludes to “how patriarchy and her adherence to it, has affected her mental health and how that has in turn made me feel.”
Also encased is Abhibyanjana’s next single, ‘In Your City,’ set for a release next year, in which the musician provides her take on Mumbai and “how a big city that promises to fulfill many of our dreams can actually be so draining because we are disconnected from some of our needs.”
‘Promise of the Light’ is currently streaming on all audio platforms.
Song Credits:
Written, composed, and performed by Abhibyanjana Rubhi Thatal
Produced by David De Menezes
Co-Producers: Karan Moktan, Abhibyanjana
Mixing Mastering by Rahul Rabha
Cover Art by Samden Lepcha
Find Abhibyanjana on: Instagram | Spotify | Apple Music
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