The joy of an amateur musician when he is able to figure out how to play that dream song is unquantifiable! The dream song changes with time. It changes as his genre-orientation changes, often in the process of trying to figure out the current one, or often when that same enthusiasm for that song doesn’t remain after a long time has passed trying to learn it.
But when the co-incidence happens, it is most self-satisfying. Something a professional probably wouldn't understand.
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Over the years, I’ve found myself flitting from one song/genre to another, from metal to hard rock to soft to the blues. I often picked up songs along the way, but rarely did they reach completion, and often were not by self-effort.
I found that elusive bliss when I managed to figure out Sham, from the movie Aisha.
Several songs we listen to are either electronic, or band songs. An elaborate ensemble of instruments and/or display of technical prowess, enough to blow you off your feet and leave you asking for more. High moments include brilliantly timed, technically supreme solos, groovy beats, or even intermittent phrases coming off elite instruments.
After all this, I wanted to find that one song, which was complete in its simplicity, the bonfire song, which was raw in feel, yet with a fine touch, simple to play, and addictive to listen to.
And then Amit Trivedi, Nikhil D’souza and Nueman Pinto come up with this genius of a song.
Sham bhi koi, Jaise hai Nadi, Leher Leher Jaise Beh Rahi hai..
It flows, just like a river! Small, simple yet goosebump-causing licks blending in with a set of 5 chords.
The first solo comes in; medium paced, not in the same scale, and yet so brilliantly blended, one that one would love to hum while singing the song.
The song is replete with beautiful vocal harmonies and choruses in ethereal voices.. Ghumsum, Ghumsum, Hai yeh Fizaayein..
Most leisurely, yet smooth, unbroken falsettos.. Suhaani, Suhaani, hai yeh Kahaani, jo Khamoshi Sunati hai...
And then comes the second interlude: the blues riff, which totally takes the cake. Most energizing, revitalizing. Something very fresh and rare in Bolly music.
A perfect mood lightener, Sham! The best part about this song is that it is accessible for singing even to the common bathroom singer. The leisurely nature of the vocals is, quite deceptively, what brings a lot of charm to the song.
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Another source of equally unquantifiable joy for an amateur musician is when he finds a co-musician, or a bunch of them, who share(s) the same passion for that dream song, and that kind of music. Someone who is able to appreciate his love for that song, for reasons which a non-musician would barely notice! Someone he beams with joy to when he notices some nuance about the song.
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Fortunately, Sham is not a song whose lovers are numbered. It was one fine day when Nishant and I, ardent fans of Amit Trivedi's music, decided to cover this song, and a few months and several jams later, record it. Simple (in terms of requirements) that the song is, all it demands is 2 guitars, a good voice (or pair of them, if you count the harmonies), and a nice ambience, the last of which was found on the VMCC terrace, in the biting cold of the morning.
A while later, noticing charge left in the camera battery, we recorded ‘Blue Sky’, by Allman Brothers.
Both very raw covers, but that was the fun. Playing the music we love, laced with that amateurism which is the very source of our excitement and joy.
