So thrilled that Awaaz Do just released their new album this summer - I’ve been waiting a long time for it! The EP is called Kite Flight, and this song is the title track off of the album. Fronted by Tanya Palit aka Saraswathi Jones, this project brings together some of the dopest Boston Brownies for a Bollywood punk circle pit of a good time.
The new music video for the EP’s title track “Kite Fight” is out now, with its confrontational kite-themed lyrics posted on this page beneath the video. ... Palit shared how the idea for the song came about: “I’ve always been inspired by the drama of Kite Fighting in South Asia and throughout the world. I was surprised no one’s ever written a song about it, so our band did it last May.”
She also revealed the source of the colorful kites featured in the punk rock video’s rooftop setting: “My father actually hand carried about 100 paper kites from India to America last winter, and we then carried them from Michigan to Boston for the shoot!” [aerogram]
Who are the voices of your South Asian female rebellion?
It should include one of the amazing artists featured in this rocking and rebellious mixtape, including Doctors & Engineers, Awaaz Do, Shilpa Ray and Mini Dresses. This mixtape was created in conjunction with the release of the anthology GOOD GIRLS MARRY DOCTORS: SOUTH ASIAN AMERICAN DAUGHTERS ON OBEDIENCE AND REBELLION by one of the contributors to the book, Tanzila Ahmed.
Choli Ke Picche Kya Hai by Awaaz Do
Karle Pyar Karle by Doctors & Engineers
Pop Song for Euthanasia by Shilpa Ray
Glory, Glory by Rose Windows
Shadi.com by Saraswathi Jones
Bracelet by Mini Dresses
Siin by Habibi
Sunday Love by Bats for Lashes
Stealing Cars by Nadine Shah
Amrika by Azar Swan
Borders by M.I.A.
Queen by Horsepowar
Shepherd by Tommy Genesis
Secrets by Gurpal ft. Thenmozhi Soundararajan
If you are in the Bay Area on October 13th, please come by for the book launch at Southern Exposure 6:30pm. Meet the writers, get the book, and listen to this mixtape!
GOOD GIRLS MARRY DOCTORS is filled with honest stories, difficult and joyous, heartbreaking and hilarious, from a diverse array of powerful women. These narratives combine to expose struggles that are too often hidden from the public eye, while reminding those going through similar experiences that they are heard, and they are not alone.
Get the book at Amazon here.
Listen to more South Asian American music curated by Tanzila Ahmed & her crew at www.mishthimusic.com.
For the first time ever, postcolonial pop rocker Saraswathi Jones is finally making her way to California for a West Coast musical tour! On her plans so far she has two shows booked in Los Angeles - one on May 15th at Ebanos Crossing and on May 17th at Cowboys and Turbans. In anticipation of her journey, I asked her a few questions. Check out the interview below:
Mishthi Music: Can you tell me what inspired the name Saraswathi Jones, and who she is?
Saraswathi Jones: Saraswati is the Hindu Goddess of music and art and sort of a patron Goddess of Bengal (where my parents are from). "Jones" is my nod to my adopted Motherland of America.
MM: Awaaz Do is another project of yours - can you tell me the thinking behind this band?
SJ: For years, I was desperately waiting for someone to do a 3-chord punk rock cover of "Kutch Kutch Hota Hai," until one day it occurred to me to just do it myself, so I pulled together a band of the coolest brown musicians I knew in Boston. We write high energy, cross-genre tunes, and filter old school Bollywood songs through the lens of American rock.
MM: How does your Asian American heritage influence your music?
SJ: Deeply. From the standpoint from which I write my lyrics to incorporating instruments like tanpura and sarangi into my tracks, my South Asian heritage is the main well of inspiration from which I draw.
MM: Do you consider yourself an activist-artist and how?
SJ: I do! When I sing, people tend to listen, so I feel a responsibility to use that microphone to talk about things that matter: racial and social justice, history, immigrants' rights, and self love.
MM: How do you think your music has the ability to transform people?
SJ: I hope my music connects with people and makes them think more critically. Transformation is a seed planted in every heart, I think.
MM: What is your current muse when it comes to song writing?
SJ: Right now, I'm very inspired to write in response to the amazing groundswell of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, but I want to find the right message of solidarity.
