Sheherazaad announces debut album ‘Khudgarzi’ with symphonic single ‘Andhera’

Sheherazaad absolutely captivated audiences in 2024 with her EP ‘Qasr‘. The New York-based singer-songwriter has announced that her debut album ‘Khudgarzi’ will be released on 20th November. To celebrate, a darkly symphonic single, ‘Andhera’, showcases the moody side of ‘Khedgarzi’. It has been described as the centrepiece of the album and I can understand why. The chamber-folk strings and delicate tuned percussion move like a gothic ghost infused with a Bolly-twist. It took me a couple of listens to appreciate the depth of the instrumentation, reminding me of complex albums that grow with you as a person over time.

Lyrically, ‘Andhera’ sings of a vilified lover who ushers in a cosmic darkness to shroud the world in all-encompassing sadness. It fits the theme, as the album is born out of Sheherazaad’s soul-searching after a broken engagement. Andhera translates from Urdu to darkness, with khudgarzi meaning selfish. Each song on the album will explore themes of rage, guilt, and grief for her relationship, but also the battles women fight every day just to become a woman. Be it sacrifice, duty, care, or survival, Sheherazaad has a song to share about it. Whilst the lyrics will have a theme, the album won’t be decisive or lead you to one specific answer. Instead, the goal of the album is to present situations for you to chew on as a listener, reflect, and then come to your own conclusions. Expect a personal inward spiral when I pick up the album and review it, then!

This album will be mostly sung in Urdu, with passages in English and Tamil. What makes me incredibly excited is hearing that the album’s sonic palette is expanded beyond the initial folk-noir goth pop of the original EP. On the album, you’ll hear instruments from around the globe, including tanbur, santoor, veena, rabab, ghatam and gungaro. Throw in some weather recordings and animal sounds, and you have a melting pot of Turkish, Arabic, Hindustani, and Carnatic heritage to play with. I am pumped.

Eschewing normal traditions, the music video features an acapella performance of ‘Andhera’. It’s a lovely freeform rendition that showcases the evocative vocals Sheherazaad has, but it isn’t representative of the original. I’ve also included a Bandcamp embed of the album version so you can appreciate the rich instrumentation of the original piece. You can pre-order ‘Khudgarzi’ on Bandcamp.

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