Some songs are written about imagined worlds, while others are born from the quiet, serendipitous moments that catch us entirely off guard. For newlywed independent artistes Sanjeeta Bhattacharya and Raag Sethi, their debut collaborative single, Phir Se, belongs entirely to the latter. The track serves as the opening chapter of their upcoming EP, Dear Diary. We speak with Sanjeeta to know more about her new track. Excerpts:
When did you and Raag first meet, and how did you reconnect years later?
We first met in 2019 and instantly hit it off. We only spent a day together before life took us in different directions, and we didn't meet again for 6 years. We reconnected only in March last year to work on a song and then at a music conference and very quickly realised that there was something special between us. “At the risk of doing what I didn’t do six years ago, I really would like to kiss you”, is the iconic line he said before the rest became history, haha!
How did Phir Se actually start — what was the first idea?
Raag recorded a tiny guitar motif on my phone while he was noodling around, and I started writing over it. The first thing that came to me was us- those early moments when we were getting to know each other again.
What was the personal moment from your life that inspired the lyrics?
It was the feeling of meeting someone again after years and suddenly feeling like you're discovering them for the first time. There was so much excitement, familiarity, and possibility in that period of our lives. Phir Se is really a snapshot of those days.
What was it like making your first official song together as a married couple?
It felt very natural because we've known each other as musicians and friends for much longer than we've known each other as partners. There's a lot of trust between us, so we can be completely honest, disagree, laugh, and still come back to the music.
How is working with Raag in the studio different from working with other producers?
There's a shorthand between us. He knows how I think and how I respond to music, and I trust his instincts completely. I can throw out an idea without overthinking it, and we can build from there. Making music with your best friend is too fun!
You wanted everything to sound real and acoustic. Why was that important for this song?
The song is about something very real and personal, so we wanted the sound to feel that raw too. We built it around acoustic guitars, upright bass and vocals, with as much of the music recorded organically rather than programmed.
Phir Se is the first track from Dear Diary. What is the EP about?
Dear Diary is essentially a collection of very personal stories and experiences. It's about love in its different form- losing it, finding it, starting again and the places and people that shape us along the way. Each song has its own musical world, across Hindi, English, Bengali, and Spanish.
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