With influences from a range of musical genres while growing up and studying a degree in Music Technology and Innovation, Shammi Pithia is a composer and producer bringing a fresh sound to the British Asian music scene. His E.P ‘Cinema for the Ears’ is composed of five tracks, each individually creating different moods and emotions left to the listeners imagination. Nitin Sawhney most definitely comes to mind with key elements of Indian classical music beautifully blended with contemporary instruments and vocals giving great depth to each track. To find out more and listen to the originality of Shammi Pithia’s creations check out www.myspace.com/shammipithia OR www.shammipithia.com
What influenced you into producing your own music?
I suppose I’ve always been surrounded by music. I grew up with a lot of Bollywood music as well as popular western music. In school I had the chance to have a play on some instruments and it kind of took off from there. When I reached college I heard the brilliant music of people like Nitin Sawhney, this really inspired me to further my musical skills and take it seriously. A bit later on down the line I got really interested in classical Indian music, listening to greats like Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia. From then I really started to focus on my compositional style and started to properly produce the music I do now.
What inspires you when producing?
Anything! Sometimes you find yourself just making a piece of music. I could be jamming on the keyboard and something would naturally develop. But there are also many moments where I actually think about what I want to compose about. There could be a recent event, or a hypothetical incident. I’m really interested in music and emotion, so sometimes I just chose an emotion that looks interesting to me at that time and try and make a piece of music based on it! Inspiration comes from everywhere, my own thoughts, what I’ve seen/heard, the people I’m working with, and the music I’ve listened to.
How would you describe the tracks on your E.P and what can we expect from the upcoming album?
Each track on the E.P tries to explore something different. Tracks like Poem Without Words, Compassion and Interruption of Peace explore emotions. For example, in Poem without Words I’ve tried to evoke the atmosphere of tenderness. Without leaning to either end, I’ve tried to show shades of sadness and romanticism. I tried to compose the track so that the listeners own emotions interact with the mood created to give them their own interpretation of the song. Other songs such as the Dream are based on Hindu philosophy. This song looks at the world, and then looks at the spiritual world. This takes places within the context of a dream.
This E.P was just a taster; it serves as an introduction to me and my music. The album is much bigger and has a lot more depth. It explores specific emotions like the E.P. and also explores events and life moments. There are some amazing new musicians featuring on the album as well as contributions from the great musicians on my E.P. I’m really proud of the album so far, if anybody likes the E.P. Then I’m sure you will like the album! I hope to have it all wrapped up early next year!
The best thing about university in your opinion?
The education of course! I really enjoyed my courses, they really helped me to think creatively and widen my musical knowledge. But the social life and its benefits can’t be underestimated!
Any tips for aspiring artists?
Keep doing it! The music industry has changed from what it was 10 years ago. Before it was all about ‘getting signed’ or getting a record deal, it’s not about that now. New media allows us to be much more self efficient, you can now record all your music yourself at a low cost. You can make the music available for people to hear all over the world and you can promote yourself for free (to a certain extent). I think people need to do things for themselves, don’t rely on others to do things for you. If you want it, take it.
Interview by Sunni Sharma
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