Musician Sanjeev Thomas’ latest album ‘Future’, inspires hope during the lockdown

They say music heals everything, and this album (released as four singles, so far) seems to act like a salve in these trying times. Bengaluru-based Sanjeev Thomas is a well-known name within indie circles down South and his latest single, Take My Life With You (from the album Future); feat Sid Sriram and Mary Ann Alexander is trending online for all the right reasons. We catch up with the seasoned musician and composer to find out more about the album, his passion for heartfelt music videos and why collaborations have always been his ‘way of working.’

Future is an album with music that seems to represent a spectrum of myriad emotions…
The album was a brainchild of the previous lockdown. This new future was unexpected, and so we all were finding our individual paths through it — dealing with it and understanding it. Usually when I do an indie production, I involve a group of serious individuals, work on a sound together and present it — but this time, I had to do everything remotely and actually put the kind of effort I would put into on a studio album. This gave birth to a very downtempo lofi sound —something new to my expression, but I went with it. Keeping myself busy with writing music helped me go through the last lockdown. This album was very personal to me and every song was a feeling felt either by myself or the people who mattered to me. I intend to release the entire album this year — with at least eight to nine tracks which will also include instrumental versions of the tracks as a bonus.

The videos you’ve created for each of the singles from Future are interesting to say the least…
Making music videos has always been a special interest to me. A musical idea can be taken to new dimensions through film. Filmmaking for me has always been a dream of mine and is something I hope to do more of, more seriously.

Your collaborations for each of the songs in the album are with singers from several diverse genres…
Most of my collaborations are from my constant search for new talent, and right now it is mostly through Instagram. I usually follow my instincts when it comes to things like this. Measure the feel and emotion of a particular singer and envision them with what I’m going for.  Sometimes, it’s their voice; sometimes it’s what they have to say; that triggers me. Collaboration has always been my way of working — I believe so much can be achieved when you have a great group of artistes working towards a common idea.

What is Future personally to you?
Future is understanding that we have no control over the future. A person asking for favours from the heavens is not going to build a future for us. To be truly compassionate, we as a race have to think as a race and not move further into self preservation and benefit. This new future is something we are all still getting the hang of, and in this process we will learn new ways of life, based on the past lessons as a guide and looking to new perceptions to improve our lives here.

Streaming on YouTube.

romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal