Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Jiving to PHILOSOPHY
|
Here's a man who fuses club sounds with Hindustani classical music and complex philosophical themes
|
Nitin Sawhney is not shy of mixing music
AN INDIAN born in South London, he studied Law at Liverpool University, and after teaming up with tabla maestro Talvin Singh and pop singer Sting, he is currently one of the cutting-edge musicians in the U.K.. Nitin Sawhney may not be a popular name in the Indian music circuit, but he has a strong fan base in the high-end UK club scene.
Nitin was at Spinn recently for a live DJ set show. After Bangalore's favourite DJ Ivan set the mood for the evening, Nitin took over the turntables with his unique brand of music that fuses trance and house music with elements of Hindustani classical music. He played his most popular tracks from his previous five albums, and a few from his soon-to-be released album, Human.
The strong classical music backing of the man was evident as he skilfully blended various raagas with modern sounds of electronica, R&B, and even jazz. The show, which was part of his two-city tour in association with Smirnoff and MTV, went on till the wee hours of the morning and had the partygoers of the city yearning for more.
In an exclusive interview with the Metro Plus, Nitin said: "I look at music philosophically as two separate blocks — expression, that leads to catharsis at one end of the spectrum, and communication at the other. Expression is exclusively the copyright of the artiste producing the music and is entirely based on his or her imagination, whereas communication may depend on the ability of the musician to give to the audience what they love to hear." He added: "Personally, I have always tried to strike a balance between the two, and in the process, try to disperse certain based on my experience and studies to my listeners."
When asked from where he derives the complex and philosophical themes for his songs, he said: "Indian classical music has a historical backing and reflects a strong cultural and moral base. When I explored some of these ideas, I could co-relate them with my daily experiences and interaction with different people."
Nitin's previous albums include Spirit Dance (1993), Migration (1995), and Dispersing the Priest (1996), where he has explored the various facets of religion, politics, and racial injustice. And albums such as Beyond Skin (1999) and Human talk about his journeys around the world and are based on a range of human experiences. "The track `River' signifies pre-birth, which is very much like River Ganges that reflects the cycle of birth and death. Along its banks people have funeral pyres and also baptise their children," says Nitin. "Falling Angels" talks about politics and the disintegration of trust, and "Promise" is a cry against the materialistic life of people.
Nitin has helped create the popular British sit-com Goodness Gracious Me! seen recently on the Star World channel. He has also produced music for films such as Dance of Shiva and Anita and Me, apart from BBC documentaries and a forthcoming adaptation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night for Britain's Channel 4.
For an audience brought up on a diet of nothing but senseless, loud music, Nitin promises to inculcate vital values of life through his music. "My latest album plays on an idea of Hindu mythology that says, the more articulate you become, the more you simplify things," he says.
A.V.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
