Live audience fuels me like nothing else: Sona Mohapatra

Singer Sona Mohapatra, famous for tracks like "Ambarsariya" and "Bedardi raja", says she loves to perform on stage and there is nothing else that fuels her like a live audience.

"A live audience fuels me like nothing else and I really live to be on stage. It is as important as oxygen. It's a very emotional thing to be on stage and to make people happy and to get them to give you that love in return. It's like the most incredible high...you don't have to ever drink alcohol if you can go on stage," Mohapatra told IANS.

She says she doesn't consider herself as just a singer but a storyteller.

"I don't see myself as a mere singer, I never have. I see myself as a storyteller. I will always interpret a song and tell a story. I will find an emotion, a mood and a whole colour palette in which to say it in," said the songstress, who crooned the songs "Mujhe kya bechega rupaiya" and "Ghar yaad aata hai mujhe" for Aamir Khan's "Satyamev Jayate".

Asked if she is close to classical and folk music, she said: "Absolutely, that's where my roots are, that's the kind of music that I like. While growing up, I barely listened to any English music. Thumri was the genre (of Hindustani classical music) that I loved the most. Folk music made me dance more than anything.

"It's a deep-rooted love for these forms, yet I'm someone who loves dance music too, like electronica in the right space, is amazing."

Mohapatra, who launched the first track "Neher vale pul" of her new album "Punjab Project - Volume 1" earlier this month, said the new album introduces old legends of Punjabi music to the new generation.

"There is a whole lot of music and poetry to be explored in Punjab. The 'Punjab Project' is about paying a tribute to that and yet we're taking a risk in saying that we want to put it in a electronica sounsdscape to reach out to a brand new audience to let the new generation discover those legends and try and do something from our side and innovate," she said.