People who enjoy live music are well aware of Bodhisattwa Ghosh’s jazz ensemble. But earlier this week he released his first rock album, titled Darkest Days and Brightest Nights. The nine-track album is his way of summing up life. Also featured on the album are local and national musicians, such as Armeen Musa, Ehsaan Noorani, Sambit Chatterjee and Saul Samuel. Here’s what the 38-year-old has to say.
What inspired the album title — Darkest days and Brightest Nights?
These last two years have been particularly difficult for humankind as a whole. The pandemic and the overall situation reflected a dark time in our history, hence ‘Darkest Days’, because we were — and still are — going through very dark times. In these times, musicians like me were completely out of work and the lockdown came down ruthlessly hard for performing professionals. But in the middle of all this, I had a lot of free time and a lot of creativity seemed to take shape in the form of music and compositions. And all of these creative ideas came to me in the silence of the night when the rest of the city was fast asleep. Hence, nights seemed much brighter and joyful. So I decided to call my debut solo album Darkest Days and Brightest Nights.
How long did it take to put the nine tracks together?
I thought of putting this together around March 2021. All the basic compositions were done by May, and the arranging and recording process began around June or July. The final product was ready by early November.
Are you nervous about your debut solo album?
Yes and no! No, because I have been working on original music with many projects and quite a few albums right from the start of my career (2002) and I am very familiar with the whole process of putting an album together from scratch and all the pros and cons that come with it. Yes, because unlike other projects, I am the only one in charge of the whole thing and all decisions — right or wrong, good or bad —-have to be taken by me and me alone, so I am a bit nervous about that. John Paul has, of course, co-produced the music, but at every step, the ball was in my court to take a decision — musical or otherwise.
Any reason why you chose December to release an album?
To be honest, I have a lot of plans for 2022, especially with my jazz fusion band, The Bodhisattwa Trio (will record their fourth album in July 2022), and my rock band Lakkhichhara has things lined up as well. This will pretty much take up all my time. So with my solo album, 2021 was the perfect year to make this happen — start to finish. I had a target of releasing it by end of this year, hence the decision.
Can you talk about the sound of the album?
Overall, the sound is very much rock- and guitar-oriented, but I think a few things that have been done differently are three vocal tunes, sandwiched amidst the six-guitar driven instrumentals. We have all tried to keep the essence of a rock album, but keeping in mind what rock is and should be in 2021. I have consciously put in an effort not to sound dated and nostalgia-driven, but rather something that is new and now. The compositions have been done very naturally; I didn’t write a tune keeping a particular style in mind. So that should give listeners some aesthetic variation and take the monotony out. Overall, there are 13 musicians featured on this album and each person brought his/her flavour.
How did you choose the artistes who are featured on the album?
All the musicians featured on the album are very good friends of mine and I have worked with each and every one of them in some way. When I was just listening to scratch recordings of the songs, I was imagining the right musicians who can play or sing the parts exactly the way it was needed. I asked each and every one to do something particular, according to their strengths and comfort zone. The idea is to enhance the sound with their expertise. I am humbled and overwhelmed with the love and support they have given me.
What’s your journey like with the album?
The album is very honest and personal, and is actually a reflection of who I am as a human being and as an artiste. A few of the tunes have been written over the years, so a listener can actually “see” a graph of the journey that I have been going through, and my objective is to connect with listeners at a personal level. Unlike some of the music that I write, this album is relatively very simple and listener-friendly, so I hope everyone will enjoy it.