A Foot on the Ground, is due out via Colorfield Records in June 2026. To Sharada, this body of work feels like a “documentation of instinct and a challenge to mentally free herself” of preconceived notions from the past. Recorded over the course of two years at Lucy’s Meat Market in Los Angeles, A Foot on the Ground found Shashidhar playing into new roles and experimenting with tools and instruments she previously did not have access to. Through her work with producer Pete Min, she was often pushed to look at her songwriting through a new lens. In recording the album, she felt that her perfectionism had to take a back seat, realizing there was something of value and an inherent musicality in everything she did, even if it felt momentarily silly or scary. These takes were reshaped until they felt true and complete, much like a collage or a sculpture. Shashidhar moved through different musical styles, not necessarily to prove her range, but to move away from flattening her ideas into singularity. She was joined by skilled friends (Caleb Buchanan, Timothy Angulo, Devin Daniels) as well as new collaborators (Mark Guiliana and Benny Bock), who helped flesh out ideas and share their perspectives. The record was created without a specific roadmap in mind, but was instead created in the room collaboratively, allowing everything that felt relevant on a given day to surface naturally.

Listening to A Foot on the Ground is intended to leave people feeling whole and satiated, akin to the feeling after indulging in a great meal. Sharada hopes the listener will “come away feeling like at least one aspect of me could be seen in them. I want it to excite someone into trying something new. If they listen a second or a third time, they get to see a new focal point and it sounds completely different. I want them to feel challenged but still comforted like there is a familiarity to these songs.”

via Colorfieled Records