“That girl with the loop  station” is one of the ways to  describe singer-songwriter  Vasuda Sharma. She sings  over a musical score that she  creates on the spot, using her  loop station to layer cyclical  sequences of guitar riffs and  beatboxing rhythms. Prior to  these performances, another  way of describing her was that girl  from Channel V Popstars band  Asma or the girl who composed  the music for the 2010 film Shah  Rukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu.  This fortnight, she will have a new  descriptor: that girl who studied  at Berklee College of Music for  a year and has returned with a  potential album release coming  up in September. 

Fresh out of Berklee, Sharma  comes with a world tour’s worth  of exposure to music. As part  of her course on contemporary  writing and production, she  learned about Arabic notes,  the flamenco style of singing,  joined a Middle Eastern vocal  ensemble, a Balkan music  choir and studied jazz theory.  “I picked up the ukulele, so  the sounds [in my music] have  changed a bit,” said Sharma.  “I’m accommodating some  new percussion sounds too.”  At her Bonobo gig, Sharma will  be accompanied by Partho  Dasgupta on the guitar, Aditya  Pushkarna on the djembe, her  trusty loop station and fellow  Berklee student Layth Sidiq on  the violin. 

Other Berklee students  comprise Sharma’s band called  Attuned Spirits who will feature  on the upcoming album. “Layth  is from Jordan, the drummer  is from Canada, the bassist is  from Croatia, the pianist is from  Korea, guitar player from Norway,  mandolin player from Virginia...  I never thought I would meet so  many people,” said Sharma. A  video of Attuned Spirits putting  together their first single “Jaagi  Jaagi Raina” is on her YouTube  channel rockdariteway. Sharma  wrote down all the music for the  musicians. “The songs are a  blend of Indian classical, folk,  and Western contemporary,”  said Sharma. “Some of the songs  are English, some are in Hindi,  there’s a little bit of soul, pop,  jazz and funk... Maybe you can  call it world music but you can’t  really generalise it.” 

Sharma is taking the less  general route to popularity. Two  of her contemporaries are as  active as she is on the live music  scene but are trending towards  Bollywood. Anushka Manchanda,  one of the four girls that formed  the first Channel V Popstars  band Viva, is the lead singer of  the electro-pop band Shkabang  and has appeared on several  Bollywood soundtracks. Sangeet  Haldipur, one of the members  of Asma, often performs live at  ensemble gigs and has also been  singer and music director on a  few Bollywood projects. Among  this crowd, Sharma’s indie streak  may just help her stand out.  

Vasuda Sharma performs at Bonobo on Wed Aug 8.