To mark International Women’s Day, seven-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated sitarist, composer and producer Anoushka Shankar announces the release of her brand-new track ‘Sister Susannah’, available to stream and download on 22nd March 2021.
The track features Anoushka on sitar and spoken word, reciting a ‘checklist’ of requirements from the perspective of an unidentified man to his romantic partner – with almost saintly expectations.
She explains, “Over the course of the last year, it’s been impossible to ignore the shadow pandemic happening alongside the pandemic itself. Hearing of the suffering of so many women, I have once again been startled by how common the experiences of abuse can be. ‘Sister Susannah’ is a song I’ve toyed with for some time and the current situation, alongside people’s visceral reactions to our rare live performances of the song, prompted me to revisit and release it. Drawing from the experiences of our loved ones, Alev, Nikita and I have made an offering of this song in hope of change and healing.”
Alongside Anoushka, GRAMMY®-nominated composer Alev Lenz has co-written the song’s music and lyrics, and celebrated, best-selling poet Nikita Gill contributes the spoken word poem, marking her first foray into music. Manu Delago performs percussion and Nina Harries, Alev Lenz and Anandi Bhattacharya provide additional vocals.
Anoushka will join an illustrious line-up of artists including Gregory Porter and Kamasi Washington at the 63rd GRAMMY® Awards Premiere Ceremony on 14th March, kicking off the global live-streamed event with a tribute performance celebrating the 50th anniversary of the classic Marvin Gaye track ‘Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology)’.
This evening, Anoushka performs at Women, Power and Change: International Women’s Day at WOW, an event from WOW UK Festival 2021, presented by The WOW Foundation, held virtually for the first time. Anoushka is part of the WOW Sounds line-up, a series of specially filmed musical performances curated for the WOW Festival’s programme of In Conversations from 1 – 21 March. Recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the video features Anoushka on sitar, joined by percussionist Pirashanna Thevarajah, cellist Tom Framer and presenter Gemma Cairney. The digital event features Founder of WOW Jude Kelly, former Australian Prime Minister the Hon Julia Gillard AC and Mandu Reid, the first Black leader of the UK’s Women’s Equality Party.
