In an age and stage when every film is looking out for a peppy Punjabi number to dance on, Sanam Band tries its hands in the popular genre, without leaving the soul. Popular for their covers of yesteryear's popular songs, the band is also known as Fab Four and the One Direction of India owing to their millennial fan-following. With nearly 3 million subscribers on YouTube, it is one of India's leading bands on the digital platform. Comprising of four members namely Sanam Puri, Samar Puri, Venkat Subramaniyam and Keshav Dhanraj, the band is amongst India's top 10 independent YouTube channels.
Now, the band has recently released its new single Sanam Mennu, a fun, light-hearted Punjabi Pop song. The song can be called a fusion of Punjabi and Spanish elements with a certain pop feel which aims at making the listener get groovy.
News18 recently caught up with the band and asked them about their new track, their internet popularity, and future. Here’s the excerpt from the interview:
What does music mean to you?
Music is life, Music is freedom, Music is love, Music is an expression of the soul.
What is your track Sanam Mennu about?
Sanam Mennu is a fun Punjabi synth-pop dance song. It’s a quirky take on modern day relationships and how one can love his/her partner yet not entertain every little whim and fancy of the other. The song is written by Siddhant Kaushal.
Music as a medium to escape or as a medium to create awarenesses? What is your approach?
We feel that we as a band have a social responsibility to bring positivity and awareness of social issues. This is why we’d released the song Shama Hai Jali (from the album SANAM Revolution) which talks about being a catalyst for change and trying to make a positive difference in the world. We’ve also been part of #NoWorldWithoutGirls and #ThingsDontJudge campaign by eBay when we released our rendition of Lakshya where the music video depicted a young mother who doesn’t want to buy a sex determination kit to judge her unborn baby. This video brings light to issues like female infanticide, female foeticide, etc. We’ also tied up with a Chennai based NGO called Justice & Hope at the launch of our SANAM Merchandise by Redwolf. Our management Kurian & Co. Talent Management lead by Ben Thomas encourages us and fully supports us in all such endeavours to make the world a better place for the generations to come.
What do you feel about music in the digital age? Is it helpful?
It’s easier for people to access music in this digital age. We’ve always liked the concept of singles. We usually listen to different songs by different artists rather than the whole discography of an artist. In this aspect, it’s easy to search music according to songs you like, genres etc. So for us, the digital age has made people who like a particular kind of music to come across our YouTube channel and discover our other songs like our SANAM Originals in this process. It definitely is helpful.
Do you feel that musicians and singers in India don't get the due they deserve?
Bollywood takes a lot of limelight when it comes to music in the country. It’s a very seasoned entertainment industry so any sort of positive change will take time. However, it seems like the times are changing - independent artists are also being discovered and appreciated by an audience that is rapidly growing. This could be due to live music festivals, high usage of audio and audio/visual streaming services, etc. We as a band are trying our best to put out good music and hope that we constantly get appreciation and the support of audiences like we have been getting so far.
Where do you think we are lacking?
Artistry and having something to say in music is important. We think every artist needs to create his or her own path/identity while putting our songs. This is essential in making music that lasts a lifetime and being true to yourself. Also, the musicianship of artists is the key to good music.
You connect the golden era of music with a younger generation with your renditions. What do you feel is the key element to get the attention of the youth today?
We feel blessed when we get messages saying that three generations of a family can bond over our music and that they can watch music videos of our SANAM renditions together as a family. These kind of messages are encouraging for us as a band. We think coming up with new ways to entertain is maybe how one should approach engaging the youth today.
What do you feel about EDM?
We love to dance and hence dance music is something that we dig. The sound of dance music is always evolving and dynamic. It’s the same with EDM - we think we’re going to move into another form of dance music sometime soon. However we do like the fact that EDM pulls a crowd in a concert, and we hope more people, in general, come out to watch music. Whether there’s a DJ or a band, it would be great if more people came out to support artists and obviously enjoy good quality music.
What is an upcoming project you're excited about?
We’ve written many new songs for 2018 and some of these are in Punjabi - Siddhant Kaushal’s helped us with this again. All that we can say is that we’re very excited to release them this year. Also, preparations for SANAM Live concerts look fun and promising - Nepal and South Africa are some of the places we’re visiting very soon.
Comments
0 comment