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If music is a weapon of expression then Nitin Sawhney flouts it most savagely. Growing up in Rochester Kent in a pre-dominantly white enviorment, he came under the heat of numerous forms of racial prejudice at an early age. Also initiated early in life was his bounding love for music. And it is evident today that these two things, injustice and music encountered an early age have helped shape his musical destiny and perception of the world.. Music has never had as much of a conscience as Nitin Sawhney gives it.
A musical career stretching over a decade, ‘Spirit Dance’ (1993) was his first release. 'Migration’ (1995) his second album touched on the idea of journey and adaptation and was released on the 15th of January to coincide with the Independence days of India and Pakistan. ‘Displacing The Priest’ (1996) his third release was where he expounded on the British-Asian search for identity and sought to disregard the grip that organised religion can have on people.
However Nitin’s personal revolution came with the release of the ‘Beyond Skin’ (1999) an album that enthralled both audiences and critics, nominating him for a Mercury prize. This time it was the growing hypocrisy of religion and nationality that seem to be bothering the musical whiz. His most interesting album to date ‘Prophesy’ (2001) saw him travel around the world and working with over 200 musicians. ‘Human’ (2003) is his latest and most personal offering. The amazing thing is that while making you think the music never fails.
Prior to his now enormously successful solo career Nitin played in his own band The Jazztones and also played with school friend James Taylor in the James Taylor Quartet and Talvin Singh in the Tihao Trio. A prolific producer too, he has written for SineadO’Connor, remixed for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sting and Sir Paul McCartney. As if this weren’t enough he has and continues to work on numerous film scores and dance performances and pretty much anything that involves music, all this keeping him one of the busiest men in the industry. But by his own admission he does seem to enjoy it.
One of the hardest things to do is categorise Nitin’s music (something he really likes to hear, the reason being that it just involves too much. Indian classical, jazz, R&B, Latino, African … that to name a few. By now a very global success Nitn has proved that good music, wherever it might come from always has something to say and it can always sound good. Listening to him we can safely say that his is the true sound of multi-cultural Britain.
The Record caught up with the maestro at his hotel in Mumbai. In person Nitin Sawhney is as polite as he is articulate and this after having done a string of five interviews.
TR: You’ve been known to say that ‘Human’ is your most autobiographical album to date. Why did you choose to make an autobiography now?
Nitin: It’s basically because the previous album was called ‘Prophecy’ which was about me travelling around the world and meeting lots of people that I felt were under- represented by the media, by politicians, people like Aboriginal Australians, native Americans. I even met Nelson Mandela and interviewed him in his house. So on this album, I wanted to make an album that was more intimate more personal. I also think I was responding to a lot of things I saw to do with the war, on Iraq. I felt I like was a bit powerless to stop it, something I was really quite shocked at and it didn’t make a lot of sense to me so I felt like I wanted to do something a bit more introspective. I worked with some fantastic singers on this album, I was really trying to find singers who I though could express what I was feeling and thinking…
You can read the rest of our exclusive interview with Nitin Sawhney in the January 2004 issue of The Record Music Magazine available at your local newsagent.
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