MOMENTS OF CLARITY

June 10, 2021

The small beach town of Agnes Water, Australia is the first place where I parked up in Spoons; my 34-year old campervan turned portable music studio & mobile home. After 5 years of my corporate job, I set off with her into the wild to unlock the music I knew was stuck inside me.

One night, early into this new journey, I dreamed of the intro to my album. I heard a flute soaring above sounds from my roots (India). The very next day, I met an Aussie man named Shane; parked by the beach, playing the Indian Bansuri flute, sipping chai, and reading about Hindu gods. Would you believe it?

I walked up to Shane and shared my recent dream with him. I asked him if I may record with him in my studio on wheels. He kindly accepted. What you hear is our first interaction, before he played the flute on Platform 1 - the exact intro I dreamt of.

The Story:

A day in November, 2019

The seed of my awakening was planted.

Have you ever had a moment where your worlds collided?

As I crossed my street in Australia, living my routine life that had become almost mundane, I dreamed back to my roots in the jungles of India. A wave of nostalgic sounds followed; the warm rumble of the train, the call of newspaper sellers, a bansuri flute - contrasted with the sharp call of an Aussie pedestrian crossing.

Feb 16, 2021

My campervan Spoons & I pulled up at a free camp in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast. I opened my door to a strong knock owned by a large indigenous man. He said “brother - we are going to be playing the didgeridoo by the river. Wanna come?” I jumped at the chance and asked if I could bring my mic. He said “yes”.

Indigenous tribes have passed on stories of nature, folklore, and traditional wisdom through music for generations. What you hear is a snippet of Charlie - an indigenous Elder and my new friend - teaching me about the ancient connection between stories & sound

Through our interaction, I realised that in order to create music - I should be writing stories instead of simply trying to write ‘tracks.’ The six true & personal stories I then wrote became the songs on this album

[This piece has been shared with consent from Charlie in accordance with Indigenous Culture & Intellectual Property Protocol]

The Story:

A day in November, 2019

I took a moment to meditate on the importance of friendship before embarking on my journey of shutting out the world by heading off into the wild in Spoons. When I think of friendship, I think of Sam

For Sam is an ode to my best friend’s gripping and heroic journey. If you have ever looked your inner demons in the eyes, I hope this song inspires you to pick yourself up even when the odds are stacked against you and helps you grow into the best version of yourself with rock-solid determination. This song begins with our days of innocent laughter in boarding school in Kodaikanal, South India. It then moves into a darker tune - when no one could speak to Sam, before developing into something uplifting and inspiring, just like Sam’s journey.

December 10, 2019

A few months before I embraced van life, I returned to my roots in India for a holiday. For the past 5 years I had worked a corporate job that had started to make me feel disillusioned. I had suppressed the music inside me for too long.

Suddenly - I began to dream, while I was awake. A voice that was foreign yet all too familiar asked me “If you could do anything in this lifetime…what would it be?”

I entered dream state, and had my first moment of clarity.

The Story:

December 10, 2019

Moments of Clarity is about the awakening I experienced on an ordinary night where out of nowhere, my soul slapped me. It reminded me that for 5 years, I’d put off doing what made it smile - creating music. Just for a second, I allowed myself to dream; I dreamt of quenching my thirst for sonic knowledge, exploring different landscapes and going far from the routine life I had set up in Sydney. In that moment, I smiled and thought to myself - this is my moment of clarity. This track is dedicated to anyone who’s experienced a conscious change in direction.

The Story:

Jan 22, 2020

My awakening, the ‘moment of clarity’ wasn’t without its challenges. I felt the weight of all the hard decisions I would need to make to live the musical & nomadic life I envisioned. Stare tells the story of how I found independence by ending a relationship; one that was distorted by phone addiction & social media

Two paths cross. The push & pull of dating, turns into love. But when technology enters the picture, the story is put on hold.

We live in a world where we compete with algorithms for people's attention. With Stare, I ask, “what if the algorithm wins?" What if we stare so deep into the depths of our phones, we look up and around and realise we’re gone?

The Story:

Mar 18, 2020

Blessings in Disguise is about a run that changed my life

Inspired by my moment of clarity, I felt compelled to leave my life in Sydney behind; my job, belongings, a relationship - so I could join my dream music school in Los Angeles and chase the music inside of me

That’s when the pandemic arrived and crushed dreams, including mine. When my world felt like it was crashing down around me - I went for a run and something else took over. I felt a fire at the base of my belly. This is portrayed in the second half of the music as a ‘phone call from grit’ (by featured artist ‘Sibu’)

With my newfound strength, I started on my journey and all of the insurmountable problems seemed to slowly resolve. My job dissolved into a redundancy payment, my lack of belongings enabled nomadism and heartbreak turned to forgiveness. Perhaps the best outcome of all was that my faraway music school welcomed me as an online student - allowing me to learn from anywhere

Suddenly, I found myself living the dream that I saw in my moment of clarity. I converted an old campervan into a portable music studio & mobile home named “Spoons.” I was composing tunes from beautiful places as I explored Queensland, Australia. And I tasted a nomadic freedom that I would soon become addicted to. Looking back, I believe all those problems were ‘blessings in disguise’ carefully placed to get me right where I was meant to be

Friends, if you’re taking your leap of faith but are facing problems….remember, that those problems may not be problems at all. They may simply be ‘blessings in disguise.’

So breathe deep, put this song on and just. keep. on. running

April 20th, 2021

Back in the beach town of Agnes Water, where I lived during vanlife in Australia, I met a group of friends at my hostel: “The Bomba Crew.” I had never met a group so diverse, free and drunk with sheer happiness. Every night, these travellers would cook a meal together in the community kitchen or over the campfire. Then, they would hold hands at the table, take a deep breath in and say “Yummmmmm.” The Indian in me first thought they were chanting “Om” but when I listened closely I cracked up 😂

One night, I asked them if I could record this sound that summarised their friendship. What you hear is harmony, forgivable dissonance and laughter from all corners of the world.

“These travellers,” I thought…”they know how to live.”

The Story:

May 30th, 2022

As I drove my campervan into the unknown, I encountered ‘soul recognition.’ The experience of meeting someone brand new that you feel you’ve known for lifetimes

When I later returned to India and started a new phase of my adventure, I looked out over the mountains - and recalled this feeling. In that moment, this song came to me - one about ancient love, past lives and history repeating.

I was overcome by emotion, knowing in my heart of hearts that what I had experienced was real.

As I began to create the song, it grew into a celebration of the fact that we haven't yet met everyone we will love.

Isn't that an exciting thought? This, my friends, is my epilogue 🙏

A night in June 2021

The campfire at our hostel in Agnes Water pulled in all kinds of funky beings. One night, I met Esther Koehler, a trained German pianist. We both shared a fascination for composing original music and a boredom with traditional methods. She was just passing through..so we said goodbye, joking that we would meet & record music together in the future. Little did I know that she was one of the best players I had ever met. And little did we know how our paths would continue to cross across two continents.

The Story:

Nov 16, 2021

Months later, Esther & I found ourselves in neighboring towns further up the road, in the Atherton Tablelands. We realised we had musical chemistry, and she agreed to help me record a piano version of my song, Stare. We found a piano thanks to Nick’s Pizzeria, in Yungaburra. I played her my song, and explained the story, piece by piece. MIDI was translated into sheet music, and finally - into Esther’s own notation

Then, I stepped back and watched a professional pianist play music I’d written. This was a big moment for me - the first time I truly felt like a composer. Esther, thank you for bringing my piece to life.

The Story:

Oct 16, 2022

As Esther & I bid farewell, we joked (again) that we would record a piano version of “For Sam” in India. A year later, this came true.

Esther arrived in India. We found a piano near my roots in Jakkur, Bangalore. Esther somehow condensed a song with multiple layers into a piece that can be played only by her two hands

The fact that we crossed paths three times seems like a miracle. And the nature by which perfect piano’s would appear everywhere we went - a divine manifestation.

Enjoy this bonus track ❤️

Oct 13, 2022

A decade of living in Australia with a complicated Indian name made the audio story that you’re listening to a common occurrence. So when Esther & I cornered Tom, an Australian traveller at Goa airport, to get some voice samples - I had to use this gold nugget to capstone my album.