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 and 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 Nitin Sawhney's song Cold and Intimate are a reflection on the complexities and contradictions of human relationships. The song describes a situation in which two people are emotionally close, yet distant at the same time. The first verse describes the physical closeness between the two people, with the singer describing how his partner touches his tears and embraces him in a way that is both bitter and sweet. Yet in the next lines, he acknowledges that "nothing mentioned, nothing gained," suggesting that there is a lack of communication between them that prevents them from truly understanding each other.
The second verse suggests that the singer is aware of his partner's duplicity, describing how he "smells the lies beneath [her] smile." He also acknowledges that they both deceive themselves and others, playing a game in which they taste the fruit of their own lies. The lines "pointless ventures, endless games" suggest a sense of futility and desperation in their relationship, as they both struggle to find meaning and purpose.
The chorus of the song asks a question that is not fully answered: "Are we cold and intimate?" The contradiction between these two words captures the paradox of their relationship, which is both emotionally remote and physically close. Ultimately, the song presents a picture of human relationships that is complex, contradictory, and ultimately elusive.
Line by Line Meaning
You see me walk
You observe me moving on with my life
You see me fall
You witness my failures and setbacks
You touch the tears upon my face
You comfort me in my moments of sadness and tears
I taste your words
I deeply comprehend your expressions and thoughts
I smell your fear
I perceive your vulnerability and apprehension
I feel your bitter sweet embrace
I sense your love but also the complications that it brings
Nothing mentioned, nothing gained
Unless we speak up, there is nothing to be achieved or obtained
You're here and then your gone
You come and go, leaving me uncertain and unsure
Your complications keep me sane
Your difficulties and complexities are what make me feel normal
We're cold and intimate
Our relationship has a detached closeness that is hard to define
I watch the news
I keep up with current events
I hear your words
I listen to what you have to say
I smell the lies beneath your smile
I perceive the falsehoods in your smiles and friendly expressions
You hesitate, you deviate
You ponder and wander from the traditional paths of life
From pictures filled with silence
From images that convey no meaning or message
Nothing mentioned, nothing gained
Without any communication, nothing can be achieved or gained
We're here and then we're gone
We arrive and depart leaving behind an impermanent existence
A simple world appears insane
The trivialities of life appear overwhelming and crazed
But we're cold and intimate
Our connection is a cool, comfortable aloofness that is alluring
We search within
We try to understand our own thoughts and feelings
We search without
We explore the world and seek out new experiences
We touch the corners of our minds
We explore the deeper, uncharted reaches of our consciousness
We play our lives
We live our lives as if it is a game or an act
Deceive our friends
We are not always truthful with our acquaintances and loved ones
We taste the fruit of our own lies
We experience the consequences of our own deceitful actions
Pointless ventures
Journeys or undertakings that have no purpose or aim
Endless games
Actions or events that repeat themselves with no resolution in sight
We were never here at all
Our existence is transient and ultimately inconsequential
Nothing in this world could change
The state of the world or our own lives cannot be changed by anyone or anything
Are we cold and intimate
Is our relationship distant and detached, yet still strong?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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.