Bengaluru-based musician drops her debut EP, a product of nostalgia and memories

A collection of handwritten letters by the singer

The good that men do is oft interred with their bones/the evil lives after them,' said the bard. This is particularly true if your paths happen to cross with a writer or a poet. For songwriter-singer Aanchal Bordoloi, one such experience has defined and shaped her debut EP, Letters to Bombay, that will now release on February 29. With lyrics shaped by nostalgia, particularly a lost practice - writing letters to pen pals - and influences of jazz and folksy rhythm, the EP marks a good debut for Bordoloi.

A resident of Bengaluru, Bordoloi's relationship with the Maximum City is built around letters, or more specifically emails. "A couple of years ago, I found a pen pal over email. We shared common interests and would often write long emails about books, films, random streets of the city and sights," she recalls. These to-and-fro emails were an extension of the songwriter's long-lasting habit of letter writing. "I have always written letters, till date. I prefer letters to the phone calls. I suppose it is a habit that was formed over long years at boarding school in Ooty, where you were expected to write a letter to your parents every month. Being shy, I preferred them over conversations," she says.

Aanchal Bordoloi

While the email friendship never really panned out, the singer says it inspired new songs. "I could have called it Emails to Bombay, but that didn't sound right," she laughs. The images, memories and phrasings from those emails, as well as the emotions, made their way into her song writing.

"This was also a time when I was veering towards jazz, R&B and the Blues. As someone who started out with a strong influence of country music, it was a complete departure from style," she remarks. Energy, for instance, is a track that carries the distinct touch of jazz and folksy rhythms backed up by Bordoloi's smooth vocals. The second song, Ruins truly captures the emotional heart. With its sass and imagery, the lyrics are imaginative and drive the song visually. "It has an easy-going Bossa Nova-style that is new to my work," the singer notes. The production is efficient, and keeps it simple allowing the lyrics to shape the tracks.

Yet, the heart of her debut EP is the emotional experience, she points out. "When you are communicating with someone through words, you feel hard done by when it stops. In fact, I visited Mumbai a year ago, and almost lived one of those letters. I went for dinner with a friend to Bandra's Carter Blue for a shawarma. As we walked on to the promenade, I recalled an email that had mentioned him doing the same. Suddenly, the city comes alive as a memory," she shares.

Now, the singer wants to help her listeners tap into this experience as well by offering to send hand-written letters to people that pre-save the link for her upcoming production. "Writing letters can be such a wonderful experience," Bordoloi says, offering to send this writer a letter as well. That would be a nice change.

On: February 29
Log on to: @aanchalbordoloi on Instagram (to pre-save the link); Spotify