Sameer Rahat’s new album, Aamad, is a poetic journey into love, heartbreak and longing

Aamad is an Urdu word that literally translates to arrival, but in a poetic sense refers to a fleeting thought within the subconscious
Sameer Rahat
Sameer Rahat

Aamad, the latest album by Sameer Rahat, is the culmination of a decade of songwriting. “This album felt like it was due for a very long time. But I kept moving towards it one song at a time. This year, I meticulously narrowed down these five songs and two poems from a vast collection of pieces,” the Mumbai-based musician, composer, and writer tells us. The album is an exploration of solitude, communication, solace, fury, realisation and eventually, egress.

Arriving somewhere
Aamad is an Urdu word that literally translates to arrival, but in a poetic sense refers to a fleeting thought within the subconscious. Sameer, who has been a part of the Indian indie music scene for over a decade now with his band Joshish, and more recently, by producing music for the Bengaluru-based Sufi band, Parvaaz, grew up around a lot of Urdu and Hindi literature as both his parents are poets. “The irony is that I always took it for granted and only got into serious reading in my early 20s. Although, even that transition happened because I started writing for others as a lyricist. I felt a sense of responsibility to acquire more knowledge of the art and skillset behind writing ghazals and poems. And, more importantly, towards working on my word bank and vocabulary,” says the artiste whose brand of Urdu blues has accumulated quite a fan base.

Aamad is a journey of melancholia through myriad emotions. “It takes you on a journey through the various moods of each song and lets you relive your memories that are lost somewhere way deep inside the corners of your mind,” Sameer explains. He also confides that inspiration stems from his own experiences of being in and out of love quite a few times.

Rhyme and reason
Our personal favourites from the album are the tracks Jo Bhi Hai, a heart-felt love letter full of longing and Tasalli, a softer number about parting ways with someone you love. The artiste says his pick is Uss Paar, a duet with Rashmeet Kaur, that’s inspired by a Rumi quote.

Talking about inspirations, the musician says that authors and poets he reads, play a major role in his songwriting process. “The poets that I’m reading currently are Dushyant Kumar, Ibn-e -I n s h a , Zauq  and Parvin Shakir,” he says. When it comes to musicians, Zakir Hussain , Ustad Sultan Khan, SD Bur man, Naushad, OP Nayar, Rabindranath Tagore and Begum Akhtar are some of the names that he lists.
“I feel Aamad has a song for almost anyone who will listen to it. We’re always going through a multitude of emotions. The songs are about yearning, but also about solace, being at peace and acceptance. If you’re falling in love or have fallen out of it, this album will make you experience a swarm of emotions — even the ones that we can’t name, but just feel,” he signs off.

Aamad is available on online streaming platforms
anagha@newindianexpress.com
@anaghzzz

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