MUSIC



Vocalist/Soprano

ComposerListen to Visiting Daughter!





VISITING DAUGHTER (2026)


“Haunted and haunting”

‘Visiting Daughter’ (2026), Surabhee’s homemade debut album, released on January 19, 2026. Recorded in the Lens at Bennington College (Abenaki territory), the album is an ode to displacement, to the pain and joy of memories through song. Between the US and India, she have lived in the liminal, always a visitor, often an alien. This album pulls from both directions, from many traditions and braids them into one.

With minimalist instrumentation of two cellos interspersed with original piano compositions played by teacher and mentor, Allen Shawn, this album is at once a prayer, a meditation, and a call to harmonize the things that once felt too far away from each other.

This debut LP sets itself apart by combining traditional Hindustani/Carnatic music with western instrumentation and counterpoint. ‘Hindolam Thillana for Piano’ for example, gives a nod to J. S. Bach’s complex contrapuntal writing. ‘earth, water, sky, air...’, a shloka from Adi Shankaracharya’s Dakshinamurtistotra, seamlessly blends Hindustani vocal technique with bel canto singing. Following Bach to Brazil, ‘After Bachianas Brasileiras,’ is inspired by Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilerias No. 4.

From the vocal duet at the beginning, the album goes on the journey to the interiors of the seeming calm where a storm brews. From Italian war poet, Giuseppe Ungaretti's Perso nell’aria mi rinnovavo (translating to “fading in the air would renew me”) to English poet Christina Rosetti’s poem When I am dead my dearest, this album traverses across languages, countries, and traditions. The end is a voice note she received from a friend when leaving Ecuador in 2019, set to a piano composition written at the time of graduating from college -- it is a wish and a prayer for a happy life.
Album Credits:

Vocals: Surabhee, Milo Lis, Tommy Paquet
Piano: Allen Shawn
Cello: Jack Shiller, Kayala Nayak
Upright Bass: Nicholas Pertz Kelley
Mixing: Bennett Orenstein, Milo Lis

Cover Image: Aalok Sathe
Cover Design: Chuna



Sonyachya Mohara - Single (2025)


“मराठी कविता/गाणं या प्रकारे ऐकता येईल असं ध्यानीमनी पण आलं नव्हतं आणि कधी वाटलं पण नसतं”

Translating to ‘coins of gold,’ Sonyachya Mohara is a musical rendition of a poem by renowned Marathi poet, Grace (aka Manik Sitaram Godghate).  Interweaving melody lines that expose the continual loop of sorrow and loss, longing unsure of the distinction between memory and dreams, this single is Surabhee’s first release and her first attempt at weaving together Marathi poetry with bel canto singing.

The cello acts both as a drone and a lone witness to grief. The end comes, but it is an illusion, for the story had ended before it began.
Song Credits:

Voice: Surabhee
Cello: Kayala Nayak
Mixing and Mastering: Bennett Orenstein

Cover Image: Ayesha Bashir

Media


© Surabhee Arjunwadkar 2026