Modern Punjab

They’re among the most popular live music acts on India’s wedding circuit, but it took Punjabi electro-folk duo Hari & Sukhmani, who formed towards the end of 2008, a good 16 years to release their debut album, 2024’s Modern Punjab. At first, the pair were so busy going from one live show to the next, that the thought of putting out an album didn’t even cross their minds. At one point, they were playing 200 gigs a year, including “days when we’ve done a lunch in Mumbai and a dinner in Delhi”, says Sukhmani. Now, they’ve intentionally given Modern Punjab the subtitle “Vol. 1” as they’re hoping to make it into a series. “Our management pushed us, so we said, ‘Okay, let’s just put a few songs together, release them and see what happens,’” says Sukhmani. “If things go well, we have a whole bunch [in the bank].” Hari says it was “quite easy” choosing which tunes from their vast repertoire to include on the collection, starting with the September 2024 promotional single “Madhaniya”, which was timed for release ahead of the wedding season. “Jutti Kasoori” and “Mirza Saiba”, on the other hand, were selected because they fall into the “storytelling zone”. The duo also aimed to offer something new in every song. “The way we’ve presented ‘Beriaan’ and ‘Kali Teri Gut’ is completely different from what we’ve done in the past,” says Hari. To add carefully thought-out twists to the traditional material, they enlisted session musicians such as pianist Nipun Cheema, who plays the accordion on “Mirza Saiba”, and Australian cellist William Jack, who lends an extra touch of melancholy to “Jutti Kasoori”. The duo also worked with folk exponents, including esraj player Arshad Khan, to enrich the flavour of their syncretic sound. Below, Hari & Sukhmani take Apple Music through the making of each of the album’s eight tracks. “Flavours of Punjab” Sukhmani: “We started out as medley specialists. We were able to sing five different songs on the same backing track. ‘Flavours of Punjab’ c