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
Distant Dreams Feat. Roxanne Tataei
Nitin Sawhney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All in their different zones
As we're flying through this world underground
And my eyes are wide shut, I'm not hearing a sound
Time standing still
Surrounded by sad hearts unfulfilled
Empty places for the disenchanted
Distant dreams, where I go
Distant dreams, when I'm low
As they echo in my head
Distant dreams, how they flow
Distant dreams, moving slow
As I'm falling out of time
I still have distant dreams here in my mind
Faces distorted by pressure
Everyone forced together
Spilling out through the doors
No more spaces
It's a dog-eat-dog world
And a mad free-for-all
Maybe room for one more
Time standing still
Surrounded by sad hearts unfulfilled
Empty places for the disenchanted
Pass and fade away
Distant dreams, where I go
Distant dreams, when I'm low
As they echo in my head
Distant dreams, how they flow
Distant dreams, moving slow
As I'm falling out of time
I still have distant dreams here in my mind
Distant dreams, where I go
Distant dreams, when I'm low
As they echo, echo in my head
Distant dreams, how they flow
Distant dreams, moving slow
As heartbreak surrounds me
And heartache has found me
Distant dreams, where I go
Distant dreams, when I'm low
As they echo in my head
Distant dreams, how they flow
Distant dreams, moving slow
As I'm falling out of time
I still have distant dreams here in my mind
The lyrics to Nitin Sawhney's song "Distant Dreams" featuring Roxanne Tataei depicts the struggles of living in a city and facing the realities of everyday life. The theme of the song revolves around the idea that even though we may be isolated and alone in a crowded city, we still have our dreams that keep us hopeful and alive. The opening lines state that the singer sees familiar faces in different zones, which highlights the isolation people feel in cities despite being surrounded by others.
The song talks about how time stands still for those who are unfulfilled and sad hearted. The city appears to be empty with lots of places for the disenchanted to pass and fade away. The second verse suggests that in this city, people are distorted by pressure, and everyone is forcing themselves together, all while spilling out through the doors. The imagery created in this verse is powerful and depicts the struggles of city life.
Yet, the chorus highlights the resilience and hope that people still possess, even in the face of these hardships. It talks about distant dreams, echoing through the singer's head, and how they continue to flow even while falling out of time. The final lines of the song – "As heartbreak surrounds me and heartache has found me" – emphasizes the struggles that the singer faces, but the chorus remains hopeful, pointing out that distant dreams are still alive.
Overall, "Distant Dreams" by Nitin Sawhney featuring Roxanne Tataei is a poignant song that speaks to the struggles of life in a city, with its themes of isolation, loneliness, and hopefulness.
Line by Line Meaning
This city, everywhere I go, I see faces I know
The city is full of familiar faces in different areas
All in their different zones
All in different regions
As we're flying through this world underground
Getting through life without noticing it
And my eyes are wide shut, I'm not hearing a sound
Not noticing the joys and the sounds of life around me
Time standing still
Time is not moving forward
Surrounded by sad hearts unfulfilled
Being around people who are unhappy
Empty places for the disenchanted
There are no places for the negative people
Pass and fade away
People come and go
Distant dreams, where I go
Going to faraway places in your dreams
Distant dreams, when I'm low
A distant wish when one is feeling down
As they echo in my head
As those far away dreams keep ringing in your head
Distant dreams, how they flow
Flowing dreams that seem far away
Distant dreams, moving slow
Slowly moving, faraway dreams
As I'm falling out of time
Time is running out
I still have distant dreams here in my mind
These faraway dreams still exist in my mind
Faces distorted by pressure
People's faces are changed because of stress
Everyone forced together
Everyone is forced to interact closely together
Spilling out through the doors
Escaping from that place
No more spaces
There is no more space
It's a dog-eat-dog world
It's a world of competition
And a mad free-for-all
And a crazy fight for survival
Maybe room for one more
There is still room for one more person in this chaotic world
As heartbreak surrounds me
Feeling distraught and heartbroken because of surroundings
And heartache has found me
A feeling of sadness has come upon me
Contributed by Alice F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.