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
DayDream
Nitin Sawhney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forget about what you have to do, and concentrate in what you want to do.
Feel all your body, your hands, feets, and hair.
You are a human i, like me. You can't underestimate, you can't have a lot of work, homework or anything. Because you canprume injured.
Like a tree. You
Don't put much water because it can die.
SOO, TAKE IT EASY AND RELAX
It is clear that Nitin Sawhney's song DayDream is an invitation to the listeners to relax and forget about their daily responsibilities. The lyrics encourage the listener to concentrate on what they want to do and to not underestimate themselves or their abilities. The idea of feeling all parts of the body, hands, feet and hair, highlights the notion of being present and mindful in the moment. The comparison of humans to trees also seems significant; just as too much water can be harmful to a tree, too much work can be detrimental to a human's well-being. Therefore, the song advocates for taking it easy and relaxing.
Line by Line Meaning
Relax and enjoy the music.
Forget about your responsibilities and focus on enjoying the music.
Forget about what you have to do, and concentrate in what you want to do.
Don't worry about your obligations and instead focus on your desires.
Feel all your body, your hands, feets, and hair.
Become aware of your entire body, including your extremities and hair.
You are a human i, like me. You can't underestimate, you can't have a lot of work, homework or anything. Because you canprume injured.
As a fellow human, you should not underestimate the toll that excessive work can have on your body and mind.
Like a tree. You
Don't put much water because it can die.
Similar to a plant that can die from over-watering, taking on too much can be detrimental to your wellbeing.
SOO, TAKE IT EASY AND RELAX
In summary, it's important to go easy on yourself and prioritize relaxation.
Writer(s): Nitin Sawhney
Contributed by Kaitlyn T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@UnianuAndrei
You rarely hear something as beautiful as this....i love this song but damn it, it makes me cry :))
@saebica
I've been crying on it sincer heard it..
@oustandingJP
Came back to listen once more today and thirty minutes later I am saying that this will be the last time I replay, still, purity behind the song drives me to listen, just once more, only just once, sincerely just once more. Thank you again for your music.
@erikisensee2044
This song helped me in so many moments. Thanks Nitin Sawhney for this masterpiece...
@misspetedoherty
I'm stunned by the beauty of Emily Bates'shootings, it suits the music very well but I have the feeling that it is the images which are bringing all the magic & hypnotic sides to the music... and I've been following Nitin Sawhney ever since Beyond Skin came out !!! Bravo !!!
@SofiDural
This tune simultaneously breaks my heart and makes me feel alive. Stunning and over so quickly.....like all amazing things.
@Deedee-ee1sg
Gorgeous! Iggy played this on his brilliant Sunday show on Bbc6music today!!
@musicallymee
Always find myself coming back to this beauty! 💖
@MrDreamer121
This reminds of the flying plastic scene from the movie American Beauty. So calming. Love it.
@hulahop28
the only problem this magnificent song has is that it`s too short. absolutely outstanding