Nitin attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School and studied law at Liverpool University for a short time. He then went to London, where he met Sanjeev Bhaskar. The pair became friends and created a comedy double act, The Secret Asians, together. The show sought to turn absurdly dated Asian stereotypes on their heads. It led to a contract with BBC radio and eventually grew into the award-winning BBC TV sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
During that time he met up with an old school friend, acid jazz keyboards-player James Taylor. He joined Taylor for a 40-date tour in as part of The James Taylor Quartet. It introduced him to the jazz club scene and provoked him into forming his own band, The Jazztones. He moved on to join forces with tabla master Talvin Singh to form the Tihai Trio and, after that collaboration ended in 1993, released his debut album, Spirit Dance on his own label. Shortly afterwards, he signed with Outcaste Records.
Sawhney's music is intensely political, commonly approaching themes of multiculturalism, empowerment, identity, immigration, poverty, and spirituality. He is active as an artist in residence for five different performing arts organisations in Europe and Asia, and along with George Martin is a patron for the British Governments Access-to-Music Program which brings music education to the inner-city students.
Sawhney's skills include classical and jazz piano and flamenco guitar. He has released six studio albums, as well as countless remixes and collaborations. After releasing Beyond Skin on London's Outcaste Records in 1999, he was signed by V2 to do six albums. His first album with the Virgin subsidiary, the millennial/apocalyptical Prophesy, in 2001 won a MOBO Award and a BBC Radio 3 Music Award.
Sawhney's music is influenced by his roots in India, utilising and featuring Urdu and Hindi lyrics, Qawwali singing, tablas and other instruments from the subcontinent, and Raga phrasings in music which is often primarily meant for the dance floor.
Sawhney's work in production and arrangement has led to his working in film and television scores. He has scored television ads for Sephora and Nike, as well as more than 25 films from his London-based Spirit Dance Studios. He was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Film and TV Composition in 2004 for his music on Channel Four's film, Second Generation. From there, he has begun to see acceptance from the "classical" community, and in 2004 he was commissioned by the city of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Britten Symphonia to compose new performance works. London's Royal National Theatre invited him to write, direct, and score a work to be opened in 2005.
For photographs and additional information visit Nitin's official site, www.NitinSawhney.com
Cold & Intimate
Nitin Sawhney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You see me fall
You touch the tears upon my face
I taste your words
I smell you fear
I feel your bitter sweet embrace
Nothing mentioned, nothing gained
You're here and then your gone
We're cold and intimate
I watch the news
I hear your words
I smell the lies beneath your smile
You hesitate, you deviate
From pictures filled with silence
Nothing mentioned, nothing gained
We're here and then we're gone
A simple world appears insane
But we're cold and intimate
We search within
We search without
We touch the corners of our minds
We play our lives
Deceive our friends
We taste the fruit of our own lies
Pointless ventures
Endless games
We were never here at all
Nothing in this world could change
Are we cold and intimate
The lyrics to the song "Cold & Intimate" speak about a complex and tumultuous relationship between two individuals. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "We're cold and intimate" which suggests that the relationship between these two people is distant and detached on the surface, but has hidden layers of emotional intimacy that are not readily apparent to others.
The verses of the song convey a sense of constant struggle and conflict within this relationship. The singer describes seeing the other person both rise and fall, and feeling their touch and tasting their words. However, there is also a sense of mistrust underlying the relationship, with references to lies and hesitation.
The final verse of the song speaks to the idea of self-deception and the search for meaning in life. The singer suggests that their lives are filled with "pointless ventures" and "endless games", and questions whether they are truly "cold and intimate" or simply lost in a world that they cannot comprehend.
Line by Line Meaning
You see me walk
You observe my behavior as I move around
You see me fall
You witness my downfall
You touch the tears upon my face
You physically console me when I cry
I taste your words
I comprehend your spoken language
I smell your fear
I detect your apprehension
I feel your bitter sweet embrace
I experience the conflicting emotions of your hug
Nothing mentioned, nothing gained
If we don't communicate openly, we won't make any progress
You're here and then your gone
You appear briefly and then disappear again
Your complications keep me sane
Your complex issues give me a sense of normalcy
We're cold and intimate
Our relationship lacks warmth, but is still deep and personal
I watch the news
I pay attention to current events
I hear your words
I listen to what you say
I smell the lies beneath your smile
I perceive the falsehoods beneath your happy expression
You hesitate, you deviate
You pause and stray from the expected course
From pictures filled with silence
From moments that contain no sound
Nothing mentioned, nothing gained
If we don't talk openly, we won't make any progress
We're here and then we're gone
We exist momentarily and then disappear forever
A simple world appears insane
A world without complexity seems abnormal
But we're cold and intimate
Our relationship lacks warmth, but is still deep and personal
We search within
We examine our own thoughts and feelings
We search without
We look for answers outside of ourselves
We touch the corners of our minds
We explore the inaccessible areas of our thoughts
We play our lives
We treat our existence like a game
Deceive our friends
We mislead our companions
We taste the fruit of our own lies
We experience the consequences of our dishonesty
Pointless ventures
Meaningless endeavors
Endless games
Never-ending activities
We were never here at all
Our impact on the world was insignificant
Nothing in this world could change
There is no external force that can alter our fate
Are we cold and intimate
Is our relationship lacking warmth, but still deep and personal?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: NITIN SAWHNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@miloslavpopov3926
Masterpiece.
@ajmetz82
Thanks for having this up here. I remember checking this out circa 2002. This and The Pilgrim, =).
@MichelleTorez
Clever song
@karstjohanson9784
Is it real. We dont know. Seems fake to me. Writer hates internet. This sounds good but timing sucks. Not real to me.