The Music Within

A decade ago, Spirit Dance was Sawhney8217;s step into the future of fusion and his solo debut as a World Music artiste, as much as he hates the tag. 8216;8216;I8217;m into diversity and to me music is a language,8217;8217; says the Liverpool University law school graduate. 8216;8216;I8217;ve been playing music since I was five so it8217;s like learning to talk.8217;8217;

Liverpool was also where Sawhney hooked up with TV8217;s funny man Sanjeev Bhaskar who was a hilarious Indo-Brit hit with Meera Syal and the two conceived Goodness Gracious Me8212;the laugh riot that throws punches at Indians in Britain. And though he doesn8217;t miss the comedy, Sawhney will work with Bhaskar again and compose the score for latter8217;s forthcoming film Angels8217; Hell. He8217;s also producing Anoushka Shankar8217;s next album8212;so that8217;s versatility for you.

He describes his latest album Human as 8216;8216;a reaction against all my racist experiences in England8217;8217;. The catharsis is also a journey of self-discovery that begins with a track called The River and ends with The Boatman, in the voice of old friend and Kolkata-based Jayanta Bose, accompanied by an instrument, which Sawhney explains is a 8216;8216;swarlin8212;a cross between a sarangi and violin8217;8217;. So you can well imagine the pathos and the long notes that are drawn from it. 8216;8216;The album also gave me a better perspective on my life,8217;8217; says Sawhney adding, 8216;8216;I trusted politicians and teachers only to be let down.8217;8217;

But his music has never failed him. He8217;s successfully toured with the accomplished jazz band James Taylor Quartet Sawhney taught Taylor how to play the keys in school! and remixed tracks for the likes of Paul McCartney, Sting and Khaled. 8216;8216;I toured with Sting and stayed with his family,8217;8217; says the man who gave us another version of Sting8217;s A Thousand Years. 8216;8216;I was hoping that Sting would sing on my previous album Prophecy, but he couldn8217;t find the right lyrics.8217;8217;

But how does he decipher the musical psyche of each of the legends he8217;s worked with? 8216;8216;When I hear Sting sing, I know what he8217;s thinking. Music is a deeper route to one8217;s subconscious,8217;8217; he muses. Perhaps that8217;s why he appreciates the Muso award, which he received in 2002 for Prophecy. 8216;8216;This was an award given to me by various musicians, otherwise I find that awards are a bit strange and very rarely about merit,8217;8217; he explains.

There8217;s another credo to his life8217;s work that has brought him so far: 8216;8216;With music, I always know when someone8217;s lying, and I don8217;t care what the critics have to say about my work, but it8217;s always been honest.8217;8217;