Young Critic Review: NITIN SAWHNEY
On the mildly sunny evening of the 7th of July 2023, the atmospherically high ceilings of Lichfield Cathedral welcomed us to what would be an incredibly memorable medley of music, performed by Nitin Sawhney and his fantastic band. With the evocative vocals of YVA and Shapla Shalique, masterfully punctuated tabla beats of Aref Durvesh and Eos Counsell’s soulful violin interludes, we knew we were in for a treat from the get-go!
As a South Asian viewer, it was immediately heart-warming to hear such a tasteful blend of Hindi, Bengali and English amongst other languages, captured in hauntingly distinct lyrics “Don’t be afraid of the truth”, “We always talk of differences / but do you know what difference is?”
Perhaps what was most eclectic was the unique idea and message behind each performance, beautifully explained by Nitin so we were able to fully grasp the intensity of each piece. A particularly poignant anecdote was from his album titled Immigrants, in which the song You Are is inspired by the heart-breaking political event of the separation of migrant children from their parents in the USA, the piece originally written as a poem. Nitin wonderfully explained how much of his music has taken on a different meaning during and after the COVID lockdowns, which emphasised to me just how versatile song lyrics are able to be.
The especially moving track Darling Boy, with its soulful refrain, even sung as a lullaby to Guy Garvey’s (featured on the track) new-born boy, amidst completely different tunes based on Hindustani classical sargams, connected to an equally diverse audience who Sawhney even taught to count in Hindi! This interactive element really invigorated the feel of the show, and the band were met with a thunderous applause at the end of the evening, followed by an extensive photo session!
By Iona M.
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