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Newcomer Shammi Pithia is not only an amazing composer, he’s a producer as well. Praised by talents like Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh and Niraj Chag, Shammi is a definitely an artist to watch out for. With an EP, Cinema for the Ears and album, Audio Descriptive, already out his new EP, Paredolia, is sure to rock your world!
UA: When did you first recognize that you had a passion for music?
Shammi: Well I’ve not come from a very musical family so I guess I started getting into it from my school days. I found that I felt comfortable with music and enjoyed doing it, so decided to go with it and study it a little.
UA: So your new album is releasing soon, how is the new E.P Paredolia different from your previous releases?
Shammi: All my other releases have tended to explore musical things that im interested in or they have focused on a specific emotion or theme. Paredolia on the other hand, with the exception of the songs Paredolia and True, is more focused on the type of music I like listening to. I simply had fun making this EP and didn’t get to academic over it. Its what I like to hear!
UA: Who are some of the people you worked with in your new album?
Shammi: There are the regular musicians that have worked on my previous releases such as Michael Goodey, Preetha Narayanan, Ash King and Japjit Kaur. But I have also worked with some new musicians such as Amibka Jois, Damien Langkamer and Rita Morar. I was very lucky to be work with the people I wanted to work with to record this EP and I think it shows. When you get the right people on board everything works out better.
UA: You’ve been doing a lot of live shows lately how has that experience been and what kind of a response have you been getting from your fans?
Shammi: The live shows have been AMAZING! I’m very fortunate to roll with some amazing musicians and there’s nothing more fun then gigging with friends. As well as my solo career I also make up one sixth of the band Flux. Flux make up the core of my live sets, I then invite more musicians to come and play to create the whole show. Some of my sets involve 6 people, some 13! We have everything from pianos to synths to string quartets to drum machines! It’s a lot of fun and iv played at some amazing places this year like Glastonbury Festival.
UA: What has been your inspiration to creating such tremendous music?
Shammi: My inspiration comes from life and my environment. I’m really influenced by the music I hear and the music I grew up listening to. I’m also really influenced by literature and academia. Art is a reflection of yourself and your surroundings so you can get inspiration from anywhere. Sometimes its just about having some fun though and making music you enjoy making and hearing.
UA: Do you see yourself composing music for bollywood some day?
Shammi: I’m not ruling it out. I love film music and its an area I really want to go into one day. But im not set on composing for Bollywood alone, there are so many film industries out there with such amazing films. I just want to write music for film, regardless of where its being made.
UA: Who would you like to work with in the future?
Shammi: Hard to say. My music is such in nature that even I find it hard to imagine what it will sound like in two years time. My list of people I want to work with constantly changes depending on what sort of phase im in. One person I absolutely love is Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and I would love nothing more then to work with him.
UA: What can fan’s look forward to in 2011 from you?
Shammi: Well Paredolia is out on July 27 so that’s a good place to start! I also have Flux’s EP Mirror coming out this year plus a extra special release. I also recently done a remix for Nitin Sawhney for a song on his new album so that’s really exciting! As well as new music I’ll also be gigging around so there should be ample chance to see me live!
Keep it locked on Urban Asian for all the latest news on Shammi Pithia!
