In 2025, music can be made in minutes. A few prompts, a few plugins, maybe a synthetic vocal or two, and you have a song ready to release. Collaboration is often just a Google Drive folder. Emotion is filtered through software. And the studio, once the sacred space where artists lived and breathed their songs into being, is now often optional.
Tiger Baby Records is pushing back against that. Their debut album, City Sessions, released on May 10, goes beyond just a collection of tracks. It is the result of a residency-style experiment in music-making where the process is just as important as the product. Created by filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti in collaboration with singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari, Tiger Baby Records was founded on the idea that songwriting deserves space, patience, and presence. With City Sessions, they attempt to walk the talk.
The album was recorded at Island City Studios in Mumbai, where artists spent time together in the same space—writing, playing, listening, and recording live using acoustic instruments and analog techniques. There was no hiding behind digital effects or AI-generated templates. Every note was played by hand. Every word was sung in real time.
“In today’s AI-driven world, we wanted to return to a more personal and collaborative way of creating music,” Tewari says in a press statement. “We believe that when artists make music together in person, something deeply honest comes through. It allows for real connection, which is becoming more and more rare.”
The project features original work from independent musicians Neel Adhikari, Pushan Kripalani (performing as Slight Diversion), and Arijit Datta (of Airport). Released in two parts, the album captures a range of emotion that feels grounded in real experience rather than digital polish. Side A features “Yahaan” by Adhikari, “I Will Walk With You” by Slight Diversion, and “Jaane Bhi Do Na” by Airport. Each track carries its own mood, but what links them all is the way they were made—with a deep respect for songwriting. At a special City Sessions preview held earlier this week, the artists involved spoke about how the project helped them move beyond their silos to foster a sense of community. They also admitted to drawing inspiration from one another and even doubling up as each other’s hype men.
Zoya Akhtar says the project was born from a long-standing love for singer-songwriters and a desire to create space for their stories. “We’ve always been drawn to narrators. People who use music to work through what they’re feeling or noticing. With City Sessions, we wanted to build something that celebrates that kind of writing. It’s not just about the final song. It’s about how that song came to be.”
Reema Kagti adds that their aim was to let emotion lead, not trends. That meant working without the usual distractions of digital tools and fast timelines. Instead, artists were encouraged to slow down, to stay with their ideas, to sit in a room and figure things out together.
Even the visuals reflect this approach. Each song has an accompanying video, all shot in the same studio space. There are no grand sets or costume changes. Just the artist, their instrument, and the stillness of being in the moment. The result is both intimate and raw, a rare thing in today’s hyper-edited music landscape.
City Sessions is not trying to reject technology or condemn the way music is made now. It simply offers an alternative. It reminds us that music does not have to be rushed or overproduced to be meaningful. Sometimes, what we need most is to hear a human voice in an actual room, telling a story that came from somewhere real.
Tiger Baby Records plans to expand City Sessions into a recurring property, inviting more artists to take part in future volumes. The goal is to create an evolving archive of songwriting that puts emotion and authenticity at the center. It is a long-term vision, one that values depth over speed and collaboration over automation.
