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Interviews |  19 Jun 2013 18:48 |  By RnMTeam

'Sorry' is quite a personal song for me: Mihir Joshi

“I'm sorry sweetheart...this is the world I'm giving you today

It's the same thing no matter what you read...from Delhi to Bombay

I wish it was different darling...wish you could feel nice and safe

But the world's gone crazy, I don't know what to say”

Poignant lines for troubled times taken from Mumbai based Mihir Joshi Band’s new single ‘Sorry’, clearly highlights helpless concern a father has for his daughter in today’s tumultuous world where women are objectified and abused.

Released on Father’s Day (16 June on Radio One), the song is a statement from the band that music can go beyond entertainment. To ensure their worldview does not get lost in the din, the band has also made a video available on YouTube.

Radioandmusic.com caught up with founder and frontman Mihir Joshi for a quick run-down on ‘Sorry’, the first single from the band's upcoming debut album ‘Mumbai Blues’.

Excerpts:

What were your influences for ‘Sorry’ ? Does it have any personal history?

Yes, ‘Sorry’ is quite a personal song for me. The world we're living in is quite insane and I'm sure parents must be losing their minds worrying their daughters. It's not even a matter of trusting the judgements of their kids. The song came up when I was thinking about what I would say to my daughter - if I had one right now. I mean, I'm sure my daughter will be a fantastic young lady who I can trust with my life...but there's just no way to trust how people in her life would be.

So, the song is basically about a father's helplessness, anger, frustration and fears. All he can say is "I'm sorry that this is the world I'm giving you today. It’s terrible that people are the way they are and I can't do a damn thing about it. I just wish that things could get better." That is essentially the emotion and thought behind ‘Sorry’.

Quite obviously, everything I've been reading in the papers and seeing on the news these last 6-7 months was the influence behind me writing this song. I think they boys came up with some incredible music for this and the song just materialized. It was the last song I wrote before we went into the studios - literally two weeks before we started recording - but it went on to become our favourite song. That is why it's our first single.

Tell us a little about your video.

The video for ‘Sorry’ is a very simple one. It was shot while we were recording drums and bass at Ranjit Barot's studio, Nirvana. The images of the band are interspersed with images of some terrible stories from newspapers. The video was shot and edited by our friend Tushar Dhanawade.

Like I said, it's a simple yet effective video which can get the message across, and we hope that it is well-liked.

Do you think girls/ women in metros and their parents would connect to it?

I think everyone in India can connect with the song. The stories we've heard in the last few months and the things we've seen on television have shaken the country. No matter how busy you are, everyone knows about the landmark Delhi case and since then, people have begun paying more attention to all cases concerning crime against women across the country. The song and its video bring backs your attention to those cases and at the same time highlights how parents, specifically fathers, who love their daughters dearly must be feeling.

I'm not offering a solution. I'm just voicing out the emotions fathers from across India must be feeling in such times.

I am hoping that people do genuinely connect with the song. I hope that we reach a stage someday where fathers don’t have to feel this way anymore. I hope that when my daughter becomes a young lady, our county will be a much safer place for women and that I won't ever need to sing this song too her.

How do you plan to promote the album?

The album should be out by July/August. We’ll finish recording by June-end and then it's time for our producer to work his magic in his studio.

We've got a few thoughts on what we want to do post this stage and have had a few meetings so far, but it's too early to discuss plans for album promotions. Right now, we're just focussed on getting it done.

Why is the name of the album ‘Mumbai Blues’?

I decided to name the album ‘Mumbai Blues’ not because the songs are about Mumbai, but because these are blues-rock songs coming out of Mumbai. These are the blues written and composed by a Mumbai-based band. It's us telling the world – it’s time now for the Mumbai Blues!

A little about your band.

The band was put together a little over a year ago. Apart from me, it comprises of three amazing musicians who I take great joy in calling my friends too - Sanjeev Aguiar on guitars, Ishaan Krishna on bass and Virendra Kaith on drums. They all play in a whole lot of other popular bands in the city as well yet got together to make time for this project, and I can happily say that it's been a really fun ride.

Within a year of getting together, playing a few gigs and spending some time jamming, we've now got enough material to get our first album out. We've already completed about 90 per cent of the recording and we're looking forward to finishing off the album soon!

The musicians in the band are really talented. Sanju is supported by Gibson guitars, Viru is a Mapex and Zildjian endorsee and I'm an AKG and Digitech endorsee for Harman. We've been very lucky to be supported by all these brands & Furtados, and truly blessed to have a fantastic producer in the form of Ashish Manchanda. He's working on pretty much all of the biggest events on music television and Bollywood but he still finds time for independent music. It's great to have him looking after this project!

How is the indie music scene coming along? Is there enough audience or is it being squeezed out by Bollywood?

Though Bollywood is still the king, radio stations are taking the time and effort to support the independent music scene too.

I think radio still is one of the greatest mediums for a band, upcoming or old, to get their music across to fans and the public in general. I also believe that thanks to radio, if people who don't necessarily listen to my kind of music get a chance to listen to it, they might just start loving it. These people could be hard core Bollywood lovers too.

I think Bollywood is great for our country...but I truly believe that we are ready for a new sound too...and I see it happening all across the country. It's a fantastic time to be an independent musician in India right now!

What do the Blues mean to you? Can modern India connect to the spirit and feel of the genre?

I'm glad you asked me this. Blues is music that talks about problems, troubles, joys and sorrows in one’s life and that is universal. It's not about being an American form of music. Sure, it started there and even today we have American blues artists influencing us. But our album is a totally “Indian” blues album when it comes to the song-writing aspect – in fact a couple of songs are Mumbai-specific as well.

For example, the album has a song about being stuck in traffic jams, one about a guy not getting to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat because his girlfriend won't let him, a third about potholes, another about a guy who hates going shopping with his woman and of course songs about heartbreak and missing somebody. These are things that any city-bred Indian encounters in his day-to-day life, and hence they can easily identify with the album.

Click here for the video: http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/video/talent-pool/sorry-mihir-joshi...

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