The inexplicable joy of a dream come true is palpable and infectious too. When we catch up with former tennis pro Somdev Devvarman to chat about his first single Something More Real, his face has that warm glow of happiness and contentment at having taken that “first step”, sometimes the most difficult to muster. “One step at a time. I am so proud of the work the entire team has put in because it takes an army of people to get this stuff together. Let’s see how the chips fall,” Somdev tells us. Something More Real, based on the relationship Somdev “had felt with” his phone, will be a part of his debut album that will have 15 songs, all written and composed by him. A candid chat with the panellist on Extraaa Serve on Sony Sports Network on his new journey and realising dreams.
You have always wanted this. Has it sunk in?
One song is out and there are 14 more to come. So, the exciting part is we have taken the first step. I was obviously nervous and didn’t know how everybody would react, or whether people would like it, but yes, one step at a time... we are happy with it and now we are just finishing up the work on the rest of the tracks.
It’s something I have always dreamt about and wanted to do and never really thought I would do it, to be honest. I never thought I’d have the time to pull it off. So many things need to fall into place for a project like this. First of all, finding the time and then finding the studio, the people, musicians, making sure the songs are right, the arrangements are right, the producers, the mixing, mastering... all of these were completely foreign to me. So, when I stepped into it, it was a completely new world I had no idea about. I just enjoyed being a beginner and putting myself in tough positions and learning. I just felt I was absorbing so much information, while doing something I really enjoyed doing, working on tracks that I had written. It was a crazy experience...
When did the process start?
Something More Real is one of the most recent ones that I wrote. Maybe I wrote it a year and a half ago and I spent plenty of time in the studio... understanding the whole process of recording... That was the hardest bit, finding the time and matching it with the time of the musicians and producers... Some of the other stuff I wrote... I am reminding myself that I will be 38... so, I started writing these things after tennis, probably when I was 33, 34... The process of writing was an exercise in itself. I went on a writing spree to be honest, especially during Covid and wanted to figure out what I was going to do with all of these thoughts I had and then making it a song was a good idea (laughs)... I enjoyed the whole process of penning it down and here we are. I didn’t want to be the guy that was preaching. For me, it had to sing well. Some of them came out in a day and some in an hour and some in two months... some of them are fun, some of them are funky, some are naughty, but generally, most of them are heartfelt, at least from my end. I am glad if people feel similar, then it’s a huge compliment.
How disillusioned were you to write Something More Real?
I just felt it was ironical because I would go to lunches and dinners with friends and family... and I am guilty of it too... where we are not paying attention to what is happening around us... the line in the chorus says it all. It was an expression of what I felt at the time of writing.
Do most of the songs you wrote earlier resonate with you?
I always try to write from an honest and almost naked place. I didn’t originally plan on putting all of this stuff out. I just felt I needed to write... it was my outlet, expression and whether I feel like that now or later, I didn’t feel that was relevant. I just felt like writing something which was 100 per cent honest. Sometimes we all feel conflicted with ourselves and I just wanted to put my experiences as a human being. So yes, some of them maybe I don’t feel that way any more and some of them I do, but the important thing for me when I look back is at that point of my life that’s how I felt. At some level, I had to accept who I was for myself. I can’t wait for you to hear the rest of it... there are 15 songs in the album and just one love song.
This chat would come out post the Australian Open finals, but let’s hear your predictions.
In the men’s section, how do you look past Novak (Djokovic)? The guy has played phenomenal tennis. There is such a great story about Novak right now and the kind of tennis he is playing, he is the hardest player to beat.... (Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) in the finals).
For the women’s, it’s hard. Elena Rybakina has been on an incredible spree and so has Aryna Sabalenka. What do I expect? A ridiculously tough final but I would give Rybakina a slight edge because it is not unfamiliar territory for her. She has won a Wimbledon title before (Women’s Singles, 2022). This is Sabalenka’s first (Grand Slam) final and she hasn’t lost a set in the whole year. (Sabalenka beat Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday).
SOMETHING MORE REAL
Stare at a space so protected
That people will always hold on
And we thought that we’d be unaffected oh Baby
We couldn’t be more wrong
Spending my time on the media
That nobody knew would exist
Now im lying in bed
With the craziest thought in my head
You wouldn’t believe it
So just please me and feed me all my fantasties in a world so connected, we’re the loneliest that we’ve ever been
And you’ve seized me you’ve captured all my memories
Now I know what I like
But I’m searching for something more real
With new kinds of forests, come new kinds of fruit and creatures that spell us, with all sorts of truth and half of the time
I’m surrounded with all of these problems that shouldn’t be mine
From a place that was meant, for family and friends now everyones waltzing inside
Like my mind, it’s a beautiful servant
But a dangerous master you told me one time
So just please me and feed me all my fantasties in a world so connected, we’re the loneliest that we’ve ever been
And you’ve seized me you’ve captured all my memories
Now I know what I like
But im searching for something more real
Take a little time out and wonder take a little time out and see
I’ll take my time I’ll take my own sweet time
But it’ll find something real I’ll take my time
You know I’ll take my own sweet time
But I’ll find something real
Yeah I’ll find something real
TEAM: Gregory F Nongrum on Electric Guitars Jeremy B Mawlong on bass Vincent Tariang on drums Somdev Devvarman on vocals and acoustic guitar Produced, mixed and mastered at Marqbac Studio Productions by Eleazer Budnah and Jeremy B Mawlong