MUMBAI: Indie singer, songwriter Sanjeeta Bhattacharya released her new single ‘X Marks the Spot’.
X Marks the spot is a ballad for the monsoon, to let out your angst and enjoy the lilt of the song with the falling rain.
For the Berklee College of Music graduate, ‘X Marks the Spot’ is extremely personal. With the song, Sanjeeta takes us on an intimate journey back to 2019, a time when her life was beset with personal turmoil. Amidst the trials and tribulations, she found solace in songwriting, thus giving birth to a beautiful ballad. “I was suffering inside out. This song is a lament of sorts. It was the pain I felt in every bone, in every part of me, the target being my heart, marked with an X. So ‘X Marks the Spot’ was a fitting name,” said the Delhi-based musician-actor.
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Interestingly, Sanjeeta’s song metamorphoses into an intimate and heartfelt “note” she wrote to herself during those tumultuous days. “It’s in the realm of a rock ballad drawing from my inspirations like The 1975 and Aerosmith. I wrote it during a period of general turmoil in my life. Everything in and around me seemed to be crushing my spirit and I wrote this song as a note to self. I was going through my first bout of chickenpox, and the news reports said that the Amazon Forest had been on fire for three weeks, my personal relationship at the time reduced me to feeling unsure about myself and I felt vulnerable, small and lost. It seemed like I had been “shot in the lungs’ ‘. ‘XMTS’ is me putting those incredibly frustrating emotions out onto paper,” said Sanjeeta, who is part of the album ‘Shuruaat’, which got a Grammy nomination in 2023 for Best Global Music Album. ‘XMTS’ has been produced by and features musician Prabhtoj Singh who has often collaborated with Sanjeeta on previous releases like Everything’s Fine and Out of Tune.
Before ‘XMTS’, Sanjeeta captivated audiences with her soulful voice in a series of mesmerizing songs like ‘Khoya Sa’, ‘Itne Pyaar Se (Thoda Darr Lagta Hai)’, ‘Watercolour’, ‘Red’, ‘Everything’s Fine?’, and ‘Udd Chalein’ that touched hearts worldwide. One of the most defining moments in her career was when she paid a heartfelt tribute to the legendary maestro, AR Rahman, at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in 2015 in the “AR Rahman Meets Berklee” concert in Boston Symphony Hall which was watched live by 60,000 people worldwide. The event raised $250,000 for the A.R. Rahman scholarship at Berklee.
Sanjeeta, who wrote her first song when she was in Class X, is a fan of international musicians such as Jacob Collier, Lizzy McAlpine and John Mayer. Born to Bengali parents, she is a powerhouse performer who has graced prestigious national and international music festivals. She has performed at renowned events like the Hornbill Festival, Panama Jazz Fest, and NH7 Weekender. Her exceptional vocal prowess has led her to share the stage with musical legends such as Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and AR Rahman.
Sanjeeta is extremely hopeful about the present indie music scenario in India. “Though there’s a long way to go before more independent artistes find a strong foothold and an audience among the masses, there’s definitely a new wave of filmmakers interested in exploring new music, which is elevating the indie music scene”, said Sanjeeta, whose father Sanjay Bhattacharya is a celebrated painter.
Meanwhile, Sanjeeta is also in news for her big Bollywood debut in SRK-starrer action thriller ‘Jawan’. She plays one of the girls in SRK’s core team in Atlee’s debut Bollywood directorial. Before ‘Jawan’, Sanjeeta has proved her acting acumen in ‘Feels Like Ishq’ and ‘The Broken News’ alongside Sonali Bendre.
