Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 8, 2016)


Rock On 3 and Don 3 are pipe dreams at the moment but Farhan Akhtar is currently living out another dream. For years he has been writing songs, some of which have come out in the form of poetry, and now he has taken the “courageous” decision of sharing others through an as-yet-untitled indie English album.

“It could take weeks, even months to come out. The songs are written and the basic composition is done. Now, it’s about getting into the studio. I’m collaborating with James Sanger, a France-based British producer who’s currently in India and working closely with me on the four songs about personal experiences which we have shortlisted for the EP (Extended Play),” he says.

James is a big name in the music business who over the last 25 years has to his credit 60 million record sales worldwide, has won two Brit awards and 18 Grammys. He helped develop and programme the awardwinning title track which defined the sound of Mel C’s album Northern Star with Rick Nowels and has also worked on sessions for Madonna, KD Lang, Sinéad O’Connor, Belinda Carlisle, Bryan Adams and Gabrielle.

He was an integral part of tracks like “Here With Me”, “Hunter” and “All You Want” which got Dido’s album, No Angel, Grammy nods and went on to become the second bestselling album in UK in 2001. That year he also discovered, developed and produced the band Keane, cowriting, recording and producing the album Hopes and Fears which was the best-selling British album of 2004, and has gone eight times platinum since. He’s worked with Phil Collins on his critically acclaimed album Testify and with Mike Hedges on the U2 album All That You Can’t Leave Behind which sold over 12 million copies and won the band seven Grammys.

Farhan who was introduced to James last month by his music agent, is excited to have him on board as producer and cowriter. He informs that if he had to break down the sounds he has composed classically, the music would fall in the genre of folk-rock. “It retains the spirit of the genre but in terms of sounds, I’m hoping to achieve something which is like the sounds of today and also what will be heard tomorrow with James who has his ear to the ground and knows what people enjoy listening to. His feedback was genuine during our few listening sessions when we chose the four songs,” exults Farhan who will be playing the guitar for the first time for a record.

We’ve heard him sing in Hindi, will it be different in English? “Well, because the language is different, the syntax will be different too. But the amazing thing about music is that language is never a barrier. Even if we don’t understand the words, if we can connect with the emotions of the lyricist and the singer, the music will resonate,” he asserts.

Quiz him on his favourite folk-rock singers and he mentions The Beatles and this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, Bob Dylan, who exemplifies the genre for him. “In recent times it would be Jack Johnson among many others,” he says. Will he release the album himself or through another music label, maybe even post it online? “We’re working on a strategy on how to put out the music but right now it’s important to get the four songs up to a place where we are happy to release them,” he signs off with a smile.