About Home
Home is a studio album by sitarist and composer Anoushka Shankar, released on July 10, 2015. The album marks Shankar’s exploration of North Indian classical music (Hindustani) through a blend of traditional raga structures and contemporary production. Deutsche Grammophon issued the recording under its label, presenting the work in digital and physical formats.
Shankar composed and performed all tracks on the sitar. The album features four movements divided into two primary raga frameworks. The first three tracks form a Raga Jogeshwari suite, structured as a classical khayal performance. \"Guru: Raga Jogeshwari: 1. Alaap\" introduces the raga with an unmetered improvisational section. \"Guru: Raga Jogeshwari: 2. Jod, Jhala\" develops the melodic theme through rhythmic and technical elaborations. \"Guru: Raga Jogeshwari: 3. Gat in Rupaktaal\" concludes the suite with a fixed composition set to a seven-beat rhythmic cycle.
The fourth track, \"Celebration: Raga Manj Khamaj: 4. Aochar, Dadra, Teentaal, Coda\", shifts to Raga Manj Khamaj, a raga traditionally associated with joy and festivity. The piece incorporates multiple talas (rhythmic patterns), including the six-beat Dadra and the sixteen-beat Teentaal, before resolving in a coda. Shankar’s arrangement retains classical phrasing while integrating subtle textural layers.
The album’s production emphasizes the acoustic resonance of the sitar, with minimal accompaniment to highlight Shankar’s improvisational and technical command. Recording details and additional session musicians remain undocumented in available sources. Home received attention for its adherence to classical forms while reflecting Shankar’s interpretive approach to raga performance.