Anurag Mishra’s latest album ‘Behad’ is all shades and sides of the phenomenon that is love – unending and tireless. Being his 4th studio album, Anurag shares what makes it special – ”…most importantly what separates ‘Behad’ is the mindset with which it is made. Personally, for some time now I am going through a massive shift in terms of how I want to live my life. I am exploring a lot more into manifestation, conscious living, health of the mind and body; and such deeper topics. So, I know for a fact that this album is made with more maturity and intention. And the music represents my identity very closely. “
The album places its focus on the nature of love, an emotion that produces a world of varied reactions, behaviours and outcomes with each one of us. There’s no end to situations one can be in, or experiences one can have while experimenting with vulnerability in love.
I initially began listening to the album from my own view of what my story aligned to, but I’m sure each listener here has a song for them.
Nadiya the first track on the album was an idea that kicked off the album. I think about this song and the nature of struggle. The metaphors of river and life, and destiny make this song extremely relatable as a listener, the song pinpoints the essential nature of the river – to flow! But is that all there is to life? To start at the start and finish where it ends? The track layers warm sounds with a very ambient atmosphere of retrospection, and a female version Ek Aur Nadiya sung by Hansika Pareek makes a comeback midway through the album, reinforcing the idea of not getting overwhelmed and taking a moment to pause.
I feel in someways, this track encapsulates the album itself – unending and tireless. To love isn’t a trade-off, it’s not knowing when to start, or when to stop. It’s either all-in or nothing-at-all at times. No matter what the situation might be, the outcome of love can be unexpected, and one might feel stuck with the result. Anyway, let’s not get fixated.
Zaaya Zaaya doesn’t shy away from displaying aggression. It’s the intensity of the emotion that takes the centre stage here, with Hrishi Giridhar’s production – the angst shines through the guitars in the high-energy chorus, essentially questioning what was and wasn’t. The next song – Aashna is alchemy, it’s a whisper in the dark, a prophecy about love and hope. The song shape-shifts through different emotions of vulnerability, believing in the unsaid and understood nature of genuine love. The zen and ambient production by Shubhank Chaube really adds to the mystical sound of the track.
BTW, each of these 10 songs have a video to go with them. It’s definitely some sort of a feat, having a visual narrative go along with each song on the album, and I guess that was needed – all props to Anurag. For one, the poetry is as simple as it is visual, a clear narrative flows as each line takes it’s time to sink in and makes sense. I was curious and didn’t wanna assume so my curiosity lead me to asking Alok about the different ideas that went into the writing phase, he shares – “Behad means ‘limitless,’ and we wanted to capture the infinite nature of expression — how love can take you to so many different emotional places.
For example, in a song like Nadiya, which is about self-love and an inner monologue on living life to the fullest, to a song like Kisi Tarah where the longing to be with someone is so intense that even being with them doesn’t feel enough. Milna Mujhse Rozaana reflects hopefulness, while Hota Hai Aisa Kahaan explores hopelessness. And I think that’s the beauty of being human — our experiences and their emotional impact on us are truly limitless.”
Hota Hai Aisa Kahaan is hands-down one of my favourites in terms of the narrative it conveys lyrically and visually. The delicate semi-classical arrangement by Aditya Bisht features expressive sarangi by Ustaf Farooque Latif Khan, tabla by Kalpa Jyoti Bania and a harmonium by Siddharth Mesta. The arrangement holds the space open for the central idea, – the heart doesn’t think or reason, but it dreams and wants, and has to make-do with impracticalities of life.
The song Faasle stays in a constant state of affirmations of hope, mutual and infinite love. It’s a modern take on the meaning of love, in long-distance relationships and how distance makes it a dreamy and tireless venture. The slight hip-hop influence of the drill beat paired with the ambient production really puts out the day-dreaminess of the track on the front.
The album features 10 songs each a slighly different flavour, and outcome of ‘love’ as a universal emotion. The experience Anurag plans for his listeners, in his words – “Visual . Diverse. Unexpected … since the album has 10 songs, there is so much legroom to showcase different themes, different genres, diverse soundscapes, varied singing styles. Semi-classical, rock, dream-pop, ambient, acoustic, blues and so many more genres it explores. We hope to have done all of that. There is a lot of lyrical abundance and depth, thanks to my lyricist friend Alok Ranjan Srivastava who had penned the songs”
Kayee Dafaa and Kisi Tarah are sister songs both expressing the need for companionship. The RnB style vibes really complement the chill yet intense emotion that shines through the song. Kayee Dafaa sweeps over the listener like a wave of non-chalance, where love doesn’t care for acceptance, it’s happy imagining. Kisi Tarah talks about a certain kind of obsession, even wishful thinking, demanding love.
Milna Mujhe Rozana reminds you of promises made during bittersweet hopeful goodbyes, but also with a sad undertone that says that this just might be the final nail in the coffin. That’s simply how the heart deals with sadness. The strings here really highlight the uncertainty and the heaviness in the song, but also provide a sense of warmth and respite. Darasal hints at a moment of clarity and closure – what was it that felt so much like love? Sometimes it takes sometime to process ‘love’ and what it meant to you. The pop-songwriting shines through Aditya Kalway’s minimal ambient soundscape of the song, often leaving you to your thoughts in silence as the album ends.
The album talks about experiences that might not be happening to you right now, but somewhere someone’s going through the exact emotion as one of the songs here. Someday, somewhere you might go through that exact specific feeling.
The poetry by Alok Ranjan Srivastava is anchored in the fact that love can lead you to unexpected dispositions – a transformative touchstone of sorts where each one of us experiences the same things differently, and while all the stories have already been written, its the one you choose for yourself that remains important.
While the album is a comfort place for thoughts and situations around ‘love’, it’s also silent space of introspection, and it sure can get intense when you consciously think about the songs. The experience turns out to be humbling, and transformative, a deep-dive case study on love and its forms. With 4 different producers on the album, Anurag manages to maintain the mood and soundscape creating a cohesive experience. He presents a palette of emotions, with artistic vulnerability towards the listener, poetry that speaks directly without pretence, and arrangements that don’t obstruct the chain of thought.
