Sunidhi to emerge from 'Arale'

Anyone who listens to Coke Studio Bangla on a regular basis can recognise Sunidhi Nayak. As a matter of fact, the mere mention of the classically trained singer is likely to evoke a few memorable tunes in your head, with 'Shondhatara' probably being the fan favourite. Sunidhi, over the years, has mostly been seen on stage performing alongside other big-time Bangladeshi artists.

However, the time has arrived for the Rabindra Sangeet artiste to break out of that shell and go solo. The first single of Sunidhi's first ever solo album 'Arale' was released on 2 February. The song' Arale Theko,' is the first of five original songs.

As a singer, releasing an album of her own has been a lifelong dream of Sunidhi's. She was almost always surrounded by other artists who had their own solo titles. These titles solidified their identity and this inspired Sunidhi to pursue a dream for her own title as well.
"The road was not easy at all," Sunidhi expressed while talking about her dream.

"I have been working towards perfecting my art for as long as I can remember and I was very fortunate to work with some really talented musicians. Having an album of my own demanded patience and hard work," she added.

The singer, best known for her classical music talents, usually adds depth to performances with her complex tunes. However, 'Arale' will showcase Sunidhi exploring different genres such as Jazz, Blues, and Pop, featuring guest appearances from various artists. Each track promises a unique style and theme, marking a new direction in her musical journey.

The title song itself 'Arale Theko' is a jazz-pop song that tells a soulful story of our expectations and our wounds. The song was written by Rahin Haider and Apurba Mustafa shared the vocals alongside Sunidhi. It employed classic jazz instruments like trumpets, cello and percussion drums to really bring out the flavour of the genre and the lyrics portrayed the human emotions of yearning to be with someone.

"Growing up, I was trained in the ways of classical music mostly," Sunidhi reminisced. "But I love exploring different kinds of music and I love trying and singing new kinds of music. And Arale really opens up a door for me to showcase what I have been building myself up for," she added

'Arale,' the album, is being released in a unique way. Instead of dropping all songs at once, it's releasing one song at a time, similar to how TV shows come out on Netflix. This means it'll take a month for all five songs to be available. 

The idea is to give each song its moment to shine. The album, which took about a year and a half to complete, shares stories from the singer's life before its release, showcasing her musical journey.

"This being my first album, I'm not setting my expectations too high. I just hope people listen to my songs and have a good time. If that happens, I'll consider it a success; anything more would be an extra treat," said Sunidhi.

Now that her first album has started its release process, the singer plans to perform in a solo concert soon for her Bangladeshi audience. While the exact time or date is still under discussion, Sunidhi hopes for the concert while 'Arale' is still fresh in everyone's memory.

From West Bengal to Bangladesh

Sunidhi's musical journey is impressive, starting at just three years old with her parents being her biggest supporters. She improved her skills on her own and through formal training at 'Santiniketan.' Despite her early start, Sunidhi carefully considered her commitment to music before fully embracing it as her path.

"I explored music for a long time, studying and experimenting every avenue of it I could find. After my Higher Secondary exams, I finally decided that music is what I really want to pursue. Music became my passion and ambition," said Sunidhi.

Growing up and picking up music on the other side of Bengal, Sunidhi actually found herself in the hearts of Bangladeshi audience pretty quickly. Whereas the music community and their approach to learning music in West Bengal is quite structured, she found the music scene in Bangladesh to be more diverse and more welcoming to newer kinds of music. This helped her settle in Bangladesh relatively fast.

"I built the foundation of my music back in Kolkata, where they have a rather textbook and traditional approach to the craft," explained the singer.

"But the community in Bangladesh is very flexible. So much so that I didn't really have to change my essence. Instead I just had to adjust to their taste and learn a few new things to feel welcomed here," Sunidhi concluded.