One of the finest voices to command awe & respect in the western music circles of the country, Vasundhara Vee is back after an interlude with a stunning pop-soul video single titled Run. Produced lushly by the renowned music composer Dhruv Ghanekar, Run creates a bridge between what Vee has showcased so far and what her future sound holds. The song is quite literally written with the artist’s actual ‘notes to self’.

Mumbai-based Vasundhara Vee has been among very few jazz/soul vocalists synonymous with revival of RnB, Soul and Jazz into the live circuits and bringing it back to the playlist of today’s youth. In a first-of-its-kind release for the powerhouse vocalist, Run documents Vee’s new journey as a solo artist, marking the beginning of a new artistic phase of her musical journey.  Symbolically, this new song starts with a soul ballad-style intro and then pops a massive surprise 30 seconds in. This pop-soul adult contemporary number “Run”, creates a bridge between what Vee has showcased so far and what her future sound holds in a lush production by Dhruv Ghanekar. 

“Run is not an escape song. It’s about the kind of running that has intention, freedom, and full power. It’s about claiming our right to be ourselves. There’s literally no need to hesitate to claim our birthright to whatever we consider being our identity,” says Vasundhara Vee about her latest video single Run. 

The song which was written with actual notes to self is fittingly complemented by a video that explores the “othering of the self” or in more millennial terms, “breaking up with oneself” – through the visible disconnect between Vee and her reflection in the window. The window turns out to be a more appropriate symbol than a mirror. It was meant to symbolise a ‘window to the inner state’ rather than a surface reflection or your Self-perception. There were notes to self that couldn’t fit well into the lyrics and these were physically brought into the video. 

Through “Run”, Vasundhara Vee has delivered a fantastic punch of brooding grandeur. Powerful and uplifting, Vasundhara Vee successfully manages to create beauty out of the darkness, both musically and lyrically.

Vasundhara Vee isn’t a pretender or a contender. She is a fighter who has been on the canvas and beat the 10 count to rise back up to fight. And as “Run” proves, she has the heart and soul of a champion and the voice of a soul siren who stares at truth unflinchingly, and melts our faces off with her powerful voice. Run to it and run it back, many times over.

Verdict: Booming.