Исполнитель Bharat Chauhan презентовал второй альбом Uns, посвященный пути от разбитого сердца к надежде

Bharat Chauhan Journeys Between Heartbreak and Hope on ‘Uns’ The Himachal Pradesh singer-songwriter teamed up with producer Ritwik De for his second album At Bharat Chauhan’s recent listening sessions across India for his sophomore album Uns, the New Delhi-based, Himachal singer-songwriter took time out to speak about as well as perform his songs, explaining the places, people, situations and emotions behind the follow-up to his 2022 debut album Qurbat. Chauhan tells Rolling Stone India over Zoom, “I wanted to speak to people, that’s why I did these shows. With the band, you’re not sure if you can take 10 minutes to sit and talk to people while the band is standing behind you and waiting.” Like every singer-songwriter who’s gained millions of views, Chauhan understands the power of intimacy, both on stage and in the studio. One of his most popular songs from the album is “Cinema Chowk,” a heartbreak tune that is heightened by the (aptly) cinematic sound, crafted by Chauhan’s longtime producer and guitarist Ritwik De in New Delhi, plus Tanisha Bhatnagar on upright bass. “All the songs are equal in my eyes but people loved ‘Cinema Chowk’ the most,” he says with a laugh. They love it perhaps because it is the saddest song Chauhan offers from a 12-track album that journeys from heartbreak to hope, delivered in a pained, quivering but sublime croon that reminds you of the classic Indian voices of the Sixties and Seventies. There’s also a similar filmy treatment to “Payaam,” although Chauhan says they did try to tone it down, lest it be mistaken for a Nineties Bollywood song. “Cinema Chowk,” which takes its name from the locality in the city of Sundernagar in Himachal Pradesh, was the last piece of the album, completed at 2 am one night when De pushed Chauhan to finish writing the lyrics. “I was sitting with my producer at his house, and he was gaming on the PC. He was playing games and telling me, you write. I told him it was late and I’ll do it tomorrow and I can’t do it. He said, if you can’t write it then who will write it? So I sat down, and I wrote the remaining verses in an hour,” Chauhan says. Elsewhere, the opening track “Chann Chadheya” includes a spoken section that is a nod to “Darakht,” from Qurbat. Chauhan says De asked him to record a spoken poetry verse for the beginning as a placeholder. “I actually liked how it was sounding and there was a connection to the previous album as well, so we kept it as is. People are making Reels on that part now,” Chauhan says with a laugh. There’s a warming lilt on “Daag,” but Chauhan opens with a statement of indecisiveness: “Kehne ko toh bohot kuch hai, par tere liye kya likhun?” (There’s a lot to say, but what should I write?) “Hum Aur Tum” has indie rock brightness with sweeping string arrangements. “Ghamzada” is a dedication to his nephew, whose voice saying “Bhaiya” is heard in the beginning. Chauhan says, “My sister calls me that, and so he also thought to call me bhaiya. She sent me that recording on WhatsApp, that, ‘See how he’s calling you bhaiya.’” It’s a song he wrote for his nephew to hear when he’s older. “I wrote it for him to listen to when he’s maybe 15 years old, and he’ll be sad for some inexplicable reason, maybe heartbreak. It says that yes, a day will come when you’re sad, and you should cry. Sometimes when you’re really sad, you can’t cry, and you actually laugh. So it’s me telling him it’s okay to be sad and cry,” he says. When his sister heard it, her concerns were different. “She said, ‘Why haven’t you written a song for me yet? You wrote a song for my son, for our mother; when are you going to write a song for me?’” Chauhan recounts with a smile. Among the most streamed songs off Uns is “Bazaar” with New Delhi rap stars Seedhe Maut’s Calm and Encore ABJ. It’s a groovy song that adds vibrant rap lyricism about selfhood, home and conviction to the album. Chauhan and Seedhe Maut have been friends for a few years now, with the artists even pairing up for an improvised performance of their 2024 collaboration “Shaayar” at Riders Music Festival in New Delhi. He adds, “I wanted a song with them for this album. They’re always okay and said they wanted to work with me. There was a section that was empty in the song. I went to their studio and in 2-4 hours, they finished writing and recording their parts, both of them.” Like with “Shaayar,” he hopes that Seedhe Maut hops on stage with him and the full band for “Bazaar” at his upcoming tour as well. Uns closes with another one of Chauhan’s most popular songs, “Meri Maaye.” Compared to the rock-fueled songs like “Charaag” that preceded it, Chauhan takes the acoustic route with this dedication to his mother. “I think everyone will like it, especially boys, because they’re often more attached to their mothers,” he says. It’s likely to be a staple on his upcoming album tour, which will span 10 cities starting in November, including a larger-scale production at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi slated for December. “I think we’ll be able to fill up the place fully,” his manager chimes in. While the album’s first single “Mujhsa Agar Mile” was out in 2024 with a music video, there are a couple of more visuals in the works. Among the Indian independent artists whose fans happily sing along to every word of songs like “Ghar,” “Tu Hoti Toh” and “Tinka,” Chauhan continues his penchant for writing powerful songs that tug at the heartstrings in matters of love, hope and loneliness. His approach, as evident on Uns, is simple: “The lyrics, composition and production should all meet on the same plane. You can do anything in terms of production for a song. Like a sad song can have a disco vibe musically. If everything is on the same page, it sounds beautiful,” he says.