Koffie
Anjali Bhatia drinkt rustig een kopje koffie op het terras van een willekeurig duur hotel in Amsterdam. Geen tijd om een paar uurtjes langs de grachten te slenteren, want vandaag staat ze de Nederlandse pers te woord, en dat betekent hard werken. Scholieren.com schuift om elf uur aan voor een goed gesprek. Wij in slecht Amerikaans, zij in perfect Brits.

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Interview
S: Anjali means "messenger", I believe. Do you feel there is a specific message you are trying to get across?
A: Oh, does it? I thought it meant "holy water"! Well, naturally, I feel every artist has a message to convey. Mine is probably about great fusion of instruments, combining different styles, bringing together Indian guitars and decks.

S: For several years you were a screaming punk-girl. What made you change?
A: Well, it's a strange story. As a child, when I first got a guitar, I would be playing real, ehm- songs. Songs from Play Misty For Me, for example, haha. Then I got involved in punk, and it at that time it seemed the best way for me to get my message through. I was very political then. When I did all of that, I sort-of got past it, I went back to the beginning.
Now I'm more of a lady. Making what can be described as funky cinematic sensual soundtrack-like music. Although in every review they define it differently, haha. I like that.

S: What's so nice about your new album, "The World Of Lady A"?
A: I made no compromises. I had total freedom, which was very nice. No manager told me what to do, and it turned out exactly as I wanted it to be. The downside to that is that the album won't be as popular with a broad audience as, let's say, Britney Spears' albums.

S: For "Lady A", you worked with Spykid, well-known producer and DJ. Can you tell us how that went?
A: When we met, it almost instantly clicked. We liked each others record collection, and we worked together very well. Most people in the music industry have big ego's, and I really can't stand these people, so I was a bit sceptic at first. He was a man, to make it even worse! But we worked together brilliantly, and made some very sensual sounds. On the album, that is. Hahaha!

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S: Rumours have it, that you really have blue blood. True?
A: Yes! My forefathers come from a little place in the desert in the northern parts of India. There is a huge fortress there, completely made of gold. My forefathers built that, I believe. But something must've gone wrong, the typical riches-to-rags story... Oh well.

S: Our final question- what's in your CD player right now?
A: Funny you ask. I've been given five albums by British Airways to review for them, and now I'm listening to the new Kraftwerk album. Yes, I like it, it's not too bad. You can actually hear the wheelspokes turning.

Oproep
We hadden niks liever gedaan dan nog een uurtje doorpraten met Anjali, maar onze tijd zit er op. Één ding wil ze nog wel kwijt: "If there are any nice single men out there, please write. Or I'll have to turn to arranged marriage..." Bedankt voor het interview, willen we nog zeggen. En voor het mooie album. Maar ze is al weg.

Huwelijksaanzoeken kun je hierheen sturen. Gepubliceerd op 18 september 2003

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