The saying goes that there are two sides to every story. Sometimes there are two sides to a record, too. And when that happens, you know you’re in for double the treat. Pop artist and playback singer Shalmali Kholgade’s 2021 EP 2X Side A made a bold impression, but now she’s released a flipside in 2X Side B that serves as a “more rhythmic, groove-centric” counterpart, as she tells Apple Music. Many of the songs on 2X Side A had a confessional air as Kholgade—known for her work with Bollywood composers like Amit Trivedi, Pritam and Sachin-Jigar—dived into her earliest loves: R&B, pop and hip-hop. On 2X Side B, the intimacy and warmth are still there but it’s louder than its relatively chilled-out sister and brings more beats to the party. When Kholgade headed into the studio in 2020 at the suggestion of producer Sunny M.R., it was decided that her new songs would be split across two “sides”. “Side A was more easy listening,” Kholgade says, “and 2X Side B was [to be] more rhythmic, groove-centric music.” It’s clear from the first moments of the new record that groove is in Kholgade’s heart. From the clap-happy “Chills” to the syncopated fun of “Garden Variety Hater”, the artist—along with a host of collaborators ranging from rock fave and Bollywood singer-composer Vishal Dadlani to rapper and singer-songwriter Ranj—turns up the volume and heads straight for the dance floor. Kholgade throws criticism back at her haters while also giving us a peek at her more passionate side. She ponders some of life’s bigger questions, too, and all with the bombast of a pop icon who is done with winding down. Here, Kholgade takes us through 2X Side B, track by track. “We Back (Intro)” “Just like with 2X Side A, we wrote the intro once we had everything. We wrote it in the last session of the album, under a lot of stress because I was like, ‘Man, am I gonna be able to write a good song so close to the end of this entire process?’ But I think I’m learning about myself that I can work under pressure, so I’m really glad about that. It’s a groovy one-and-a-half-minute song, just to give you a glimpse of the album. It starts with a piano line from [later track] ‘Interrupt Me’.” “Chills” “This came from a germ of an idea which was visual. I was sitting on a bed and I watched my husband come out of the bathroom after a shower and the word ‘chills’ just came into my head. I just took off from there. I thought it was a nice word but more than that, I made it about how vain I can be in love. There’s a side of love that’s vain and you need that, so I wrote it about all the physical things I felt in relationships. Sunny added claps when this was being made and I’m a huge ROSALÍA fan so I loved it immediately. “Garden Variety Hater” “When I released my song ‘Regular’ in 2020, I had cut my hair and it went from the longest length I’d ever had to a boy cut. I got a lot of flak for it. I got another round of flak when I coloured my black hair to white because I wanted to do it and I loved it. I got a lot of hate on social media. The phrase ‘Garden Variety Hater’ came to me just out of nowhere and I forgot about how I was feeling and started writing the song. I take vocal lessons from Vasundhara [Vee, singer and vocal coach] and when I asked her if she wanted to sing it with me, she was such a boss and ate up the song. We had so much fun doing this.” “Running” “I wrote this when I was sitting on my balcony and seeing the world had come to a standstill. I could, for the first time, see the pace at which I was living my life pre-pandemic. I think this happens to everybody, especially in a city like Mumbai, where everything has to be done fast. It’s an introspective song about how we’re just choosing our dreams and looking at the next thing you have to do. And we’re not paying heed to our surroundings, whether it’s the environment, the people in our lives or family and friends. We sort of dismiss a lot of things because we have to get ahead. It’s saying to slow down but not in a preachy way. It’s hinting that we could do well with slowing down.” “Interrupt Me” “In young love, like when you’re just staring at your phone, waiting for that person who you either have a crush on or you’re sort of in the initial phase of dating, you’re waiting for them to call or you’re waiting for them to just show up and surprise you. It’s written from that point of view. You’re just telling them, ‘Come interrupt me because I’m writing better songs and writing better lyrics. When you’re around, I’m doing better because of this interruption.’ “I love the way Ranj delivers her music and the personality that comes through [on this track]. I remember when she started singing, I told Sunny. ‘I think she should sing a whole song.’ She just owned the song.” “Enough of You” “This is about that emotion of not going back to a place in a relationship which has done you no good in the past, but you keep giving opportunities to the person who’s hurting you to mend his ways and get it right this time. But then at one point, you want to say that’s enough: ‘Enough of this and I’ve had enough of you.’ It was the last song added to the album. We made it guitar-heavy. For me, it’s a guitarist’s song and also a serious, emo track with a lot of anger.” “Locomoco” “This is the oldest track on the album. I think I wrote it around 2017, when I also wrote ‘Uncool’ for 2X Side A. I wanted to make up a word of adulation. I came up with ‘locomoco’. I thought it had a ring to it and could rhyme. I looked it up after I had already written the first verse and chorus and it turns out the word exists. It’s a dish in Hawaii, so I guess I’m saying: ‘You’re my dish.’ I just wanted to write a sex song. And I’m really proud that I could write like that without any profanity, any usage of the word sex or ‘Let’s get it on’, you know? Lust is the emotion of that song. “Chalta Hai” “Growing up, my dad drilled this into my head about the ‘chalta hai’ lax attitude. He said, ‘A lot of things will happen around you but you will not be that chalta hai person.’ I’ve seen him live by that so much that I instinctively wanted to write about it. But again, there was the fear of sounding preachy with a message like this. I didn’t want to tackle it by saying: ‘Don’t be that person.’ The first line—“Chhod na itna kaun sochega?”—sung by Vishal Dadlani is written from the perspective of a person in Mumbai because I’ve heard that. Overall, the song is a backhanded comment on society that we’re making do with anything and everything. When Hanumankind comes in with his rap, he starts with the positive effect of the ‘chalta hai’ attitude and then speaks about its ills. I wrote it in a groovy way. I want people to be able to sing the chorus and then go back and read what they’re singing and then think about it.” “Tum Na Mile” “My perception out there is still as someone who sings in Hindi and not in English. When I put my stuff out as an independent singer-songwriter, I know that people will long to hear the Hindi stuff, so I wanted to put it here as a surprise because I didn’t forget about them. “I connected with Parag Agarwal and he wanted to write something for me. He ended up writing the first verse for the song, and then for two years nothing happened. I connected with [composer and producer] Dub Sharma and he said he’d love to work on ‘Tum Na Mile’. He came on board as a producer and even as a writer. But on his way back after completing the track, his computer crashed and he lost the entire session. He just asked me to do the song with someone because he didn’t want to go through it again. A year or so went by and I played the demo to Sunny and he loved the production. We asked Dub if we could retain some of the production ideas. It was a strange conversation to have, as one would think, but Dub is so into the music that he let us work on it.”