Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Rabbi Shergill's Interview - I might have to do Bollywood

"I might have to do Bollywood". 

I feel it can be stated that very few artists today think about these things and see the world the way Mr. Rabbi Shergill does. I wish him luck and hope he never has to do something he does not want to and keeps producing extraordinary music the way he has been. 

Some excerpts from the interview are below.

I do this because I love this. I don't do this because I really need to become busy, or prove a point. I have to prove no point. What I really want to do is figure out if there are enough songs that I want to put out there. It has to come from within. I need to take my time, I need to do things that I enjoy because that's what gives me my music. I am only as good as the experiences I've had and I want to have real experiences. I don't want to sit in a studio and do assembly line work for some film director or producer and keep out churning empty hits. It was never about that for me.
...
Because the album is just so random, it talks about different things. Even my last album was all over the place. I don't like to have a unifying thread. Tomorrow I might say that I want to do a rock opera so that might be different. But right now, I don't feel the need to have a unifying theme. So the only unifying theme is this peripatetic quality, this thing that I do. Randomness. There's not a single song I could pick out to represent the entire album but if I really had to then I would say Challa. It sets the tone.
...
I don't know. It looks very bleak now because from the way I see it you're going to have to do Bollywood to survive. There's no channel playing independent pop as compared to the early to mid 90s when you had a lot more air time to do independent pop. That today is virtually nil. So if you ask me – I don’t know what's going to happen. I've been able to hold out and I don’t know for how much longer. Maybe tomorrow I'm just going to have to go to a producer and say, 'Okay you want me to do music? Ill do it.' I don't know. But it doesn't look good especially for a young kid who says that he doesn't want to do films, just independent music. The future is not very bright for him.


4 comments:

Jagjit said...

i saw this interview on youtube. rabbi said he also wrote some books during last three years. can someone tell me which books has he written.

Great if u can mail me at ireadmymails@gmail.com

Thanks a lot!

Anonymous said...

hi! lovely blog. Rabbi is awesome. Wish me made more music. Soon. I was surprised that you left out "Bulla" from your lyrics section. It is his best till today (after bilqis, i think).

here it is, with the translation
Main janda tainu ajj
Peerh hundi
Dil tere uthhdi ey
Chees

Main janda aunde
Din ‘ch tufan kai
Kujh sujhda na
Udddi ey reit

Rakhdi si jisnu tu
Sanbh-sanbh
Ghut-ghut seene naal
La

Kal jo si sohna
Sagna da haar tera
Ajj ban gia
Gall da o faah

Ni ballo! Ni ballo!
Gham kahda
Ey tan lekha si
Karma da
Vekh lai jar lai
Ihnu khirhe mathhey
Beetega sama
Hovange
‘Kathhey

Main janda dabbian tu
Kai yadan
Jo suttian na gaian
Taithon

O Aundian ne kandhan tapp
Jadon meetein tun akhan
Jadon lavein foki mattan
Maithon

Kardi ein nitt tu
Mukadma
Kardi ein tikhian
Jirha

Kade akhein dokhi
Kade kar devein bari
Par hovey na
koi faisla

Ni ballo! Ni ballo!
Gham kahda
Ey tan lekha si
Karma da
Vekh lai jar lai
Ihnu khirhe mathhey
Beetega sama
Hovange
‘Kathhey

Tera maseeha
Bane das kivein koi
Duniya sabh bhulli firdi

Khud varke tainu folne paine
Khud painde tainu chalne paine
Navein akhar gharne paine


English Translation:

I know that you are
Hurt today
In your heart you feel
A pang

I know in the day
Arrive many storms
You can think nothing
And there’s just sand

What you guarded
With great care
Against your bosom
Very close

What was yesterday
A lucky necklace
Is today a noose
Around the neck

O! Ballo! O! Ballo!
Why this sadness
This is all cause
And effect
See it, feel it
Chin up
In time
We Shall be
Together

I know you buried
Many memories
That you couldn’t
Throw away

They come climbing walls
When you close your eyes
Or when you listen to my
Empty advices

Everyday you
Litigate
Everyday a sharp
Debate

Sometimes its ‘guilty’
Sometimes it’s ‘innocent’
But never a
Resolution

O Ballo! O Ballo!
Why the sadness
This is all cause
And effect
See it, feel it
Chin up
In time
We Shall be
Together

Who tell me
Can be your messiah
When all are as lost

You’ll have to turn the pages yourself
You’ll have to journey yourself
Shape your own script

Chitwant Nab said...

Does somebody know rabbi shergill's email address or his marketing associates....where he could be contacted for marketing of his songs and him in the US market!!!!

I work for a company that has a platform for spreading the brand name for the celebrities via its flash based product line....that helps in bringing a live interaction b/w the celebrity and his/her fans via mobile, embedded flash on the social networking sites, driving traffic to the celebrity website etc.

I would appreciate if someone could pass some info/link about rabbi's or its marketing associates contact info.

Dibya Ray said...

I have lots of respect and love for Mr Shergill,,,,,,keep up!!! Really love your work!!!!