My very first exposure to the prowess of Adnan Sami was when as a child I watched Mujhko Bhi Toh Lift Karade on television. Since then his music was always a part of my playlist, in fact, when he sang Bhardo Jholi Meri in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, the fan in me kept listening to it for days. However, when the singer-composer recently released Alvida there was a newness in the music that I could sense, but it had the Adnan Sami signature to it as well. Recently, I spoke to this legendary musician and there were so many things we discussed. He revealed that he is rebuilding himself on the music front. It’s a new mindset but with its traditional roots in place and honestly, I love that.
Watch Alivda here:
Also, read the interview here:
How did Alvida come about?
I have been very busy getting ready for a new phase of my musical journey. I have been composing a lot of music and as a result of that one of the compositions I wanted to create was a song that was very soulful and emotional about break up romantically, but also about parting ways of two individuals. I wanted the poetry to be such that it could lend itself to any kind of situation. I also conveyed this to Kausar Munir who has written the lyrics beautifully. That’s how this song came about.
When you deleted your pictures on social media for this song, there was quite a stir created on social media…
It’s a culmination of many factors that came in, Alvida is the commencement of the new phase of my musical journey. I am very proud of my past songs, I have beautiful memories and I am grateful for it, but I wanted to get a hold of all my previous posts and archive them. People thought I deleted the posts, I would never do that. The idea behind it was to start with a clean slate. I have this new mindset not just musically, but even spiritually. I have refreshed myself in many areas of life. I think the pandemic allowed all of us with the opportunity to slow down. I had an opportunity to re-evaluate my entire life, and re-align myself. I was also able to reassess a lot of things musically, that’s where the Adnan 2.0 comes in. My whole mindset has changed over the last couple of years. I did not anticipate the wild imagination that people would get into. People thought I was leaving social media, some thought I was leaving India, some thought I was leaving the music industry and some even thought that I was leaving life. A lot of people commented asking me to be strong. I had never imagined that people would react this way. The silver lining in all this was seeing the enormous amount of love and concern people showed that overwhelmed me. I was deeply touched by it, it felt so nice to be loved so much.
But even with this new mindset, do you make sure to retain your signature style in whatever you compose?
At the end of the day everybody has gotten a certain DNA and its inherent. When you are able to develop a certain signature, somebody who is familiar with your work will be able to see that touch. No matter how diverse the melody may be I will always be able to tell if something is probably an RD Burman or a Shankar Jai Kishan melody. No matter what is the style there will also be a distinction of that particular artist.
Today, the industry is changing, we are in an amazing space of content, but do you also cater to this change while composing music?
Right now, the entertainment industry is going through a certain transformation across the world. In India also we are going through a massive transition, the South industry has suddenly blossomed. Music is not as much as in the forefront as it used to be once upon a time. People are experimenting with more realistic stories. I was recently asked why is the music industry going through so many remixes, but remix is not a new phenomenon, it has been going on for ages. All over the world, today all producers are just wanting to play safe. They only want to remanufacture sure shot hits, but they don’t realize by doing that they are depriving today’s generation with songs that they can solely own as their own. That is a tragedy. To be honest, when I compose, I compose what I can personally relate to. I am a very progressive person, but I will compose from my heart, I don’t know how to do it any other way. I have never gotten into a factory mode, I always did less work, but I did work which I believed in. Whether somebody liked it or not is a different story altogether. I always work at one thing at a time, I cannot multi-task. I know if I don’t do it from my heart it is not going to work. I do keep myself up to date and incorporate the new things too, I have always believed in moving forward but also maintain a certain element of tradition.
These days independent music is on the rise, music singles are being made in huge numbers, what do you think of that?
I think it’s a great phase, we need to acknowledge that in India music is a part of a religion. Before cinema incorporated music as an important tool, we didn’t have a music industry as such. It was an extension of the film industry. However, music is still a very important part of our culture, so that thirst needs to be quenched from some outlet, that is giving way to the much needed independent music industry. And that is why it is evolving on its own which will ultimately bring in a tremendous amount of creativity free from all influences.
In all honesty, I am totally loving this Adnan 2.0 version and I am only hoping to see more amazing work coming from the singer as he embarks on this new chapter in his journey. Here’s wishing him all the very best!