Photos provided by Tiger Baby Record
In 2025, music can be produced in minutes. Some tips, some plugins, maybe a synth or two, you can release a song. Collaboration is usually just a Google Drive folder. Emotions are filtered through software. Now, once a sacred space for artists to live and breathe songs, this studio is often optional now.
Tiger Baby Records is opposing this. Their debut album, City Sessions, was released on May 10, and it’s not just a collection of tracks. This is the result of living-style experiments in music production, in which the process is as important as the product. Creating by filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti with singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari, Tiger Baby Records was created based on the idea that songwriting deserves space, patience and presence. Through the city meeting, they try to give a speech.
The album was recorded at Island City Studios in Mumbai, where the artist spent time in the same space – using acoustic instruments and simulation techniques. There is no hidden behind digital effects or AI-generated templates. Each note is played by hand. Every word is sung in real time.
“In today’s AI-driven world, we want to go back to a more personal and collaborative way to create music,” Tewari said in a news report. “We believe that when artists make music together in person, honest things come true. It allows for real connections, which is becoming increasingly rare.”
The project features original works by independent musicians Neel Adhikari, Pushan Kripalani (acting as a slight transfer) and Arijit Datta (airport). Released in two parts, the album captures a series of emotions based on real experiences rather than digital polishes. Features of Adhikari’s “Yahaan”, “I will walk with you”, while the airport is “Jaane Bhi do na”. Each track has its own mood, but what connects them all together is how they are made and has a deep respect for songwriting. In a preview of the special city meeting held earlier this week, the artists involved talked about how the project helped them move beyond the silos to foster a sense of community. They also admit that they draw inspiration from each other, even hype people from each other.
Zoya Akhtar said the project stems from a long-term hobby for singer-songwriter and a desire to create space for their stories. “We’re always attracted to the narrator. Those who use music to feel or notice through their own feelings. Through the city meeting, we want to build something that celebrates this writing. It’s not just the last song. It’s the way it’s about the song.”
Reema Kagti added that their purpose is to get the emotions interested, not the trend. This means working without the usual interference with digital tools and quick schedules. Instead, artists are encouraged to slow down, stay in their ideas, sit in the room, and figure things out together.
Even the visual effects reflect this approach. Each song has an accompanying video, all shot in the same studio space. No grand suit or outfit changes. It’s just artists, their instruments and the meditation of the present moment. The result is both intimate and primitive, which is rare in today’s hyper-edited musical landscape.
City meetings are not the way to try to reject technology or condemn the current way of music. It just offers another option. It reminds us that music doesn’t have to be hasty or over-made to make sense. Sometimes what we need most is to hear people in the actual room and tell a story from the real one.
The Tiger Baby Records program plans to expand city meetings into regular properties, inviting more artists to future volumes. The goal is to create an ever-evolving songwriting archive that brings central emotions and authenticity. It’s a long-term vision that values ​​depth over speed and collaboration rather than automation.
