SHREYA BOSE
In conversation with
SHANTANU PANDIT
When Shantanu Pandit released his debut album Milk Teeth in August 2021 , almost every review or commentary on it emphasized vulnerability . The album is an adult ’ s pondering upon an irrecoverable childhood , now recalled and remastered through grown-up grudges and hard-earned epiphanies .
Like most artists worth remembering , Pandit exudes a quiet , instinctual honesty . The songs of Milk Teeth trigger despair , wonder and belonging , possibly because they come from Pandit ’ s truest memories , both cherished and reviled . They make you remember your best days , and mourn the fact that you ’ ve grown beyond them too far and too fast .
Released to rave reviews , Milk Teeth undoubtedly set Pandit apart as someone to keep ears out for . A year after the album ’ s release , Pandit set out on a 4000 + km road journey covering 9 concerts and 8 cities - in a caravan .
The Score Magazine caught up with Shantanu Pandit posttour to ask about the album , what it still means to him , and whether he ’ s like to live inside a volcano .
A year after its release , what does Milk Teeth mean to you ? Has its significance changed to you ?
Nah not really . It still means the same to me . I find the ethos behind the album is still very relevant for me as some of my new material seems to stem from a similar place . Just yesterday I was reflecting on some of my new songs and wondering what I ’ ll call the next album . I thought ‘ Milk Teeth ’ still seems to be a good descriptor for a lot of them . I ’ ll have to think of something else though , heh .
The album conveyed a sense of holding on to childhood as a bulwark against an increasingly cruel world . Would you say that ’ s appropriate ? If so , have you managed to hold onto some part of that ?
Yes . That ’ s a beautiful way of putting it . More than ‘ cruel ’ I ’ d say ‘ corrupt ’ world . I associate the spirit of childhood with a sense of purity , and that ’ s what I was trying to tap into while writing Milk
The Score Magazine
24 highonscore . com