Nitin Sawhney (raised in Rochester, Kent, England) is a London-based compos… Read Full Bio ↴Nitin Sawhney (raised in Rochester, Kent, England) is a London-based composer and DJ of various styles of music, including jazz, drum and bass, hip-hop, flamenco and modern orchestral compositions. His major works include Beyond Skin, Prophesy, Human, and Philtre. He is considered one of the pioneers of what is known as the Asian Underground music scene, defining a music genre that mixes south-Asian musical influences with western electronica and breakbeat style. He does however dislike the tag of "world" music, describing it as musical apartheid.

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

The Preacher
Nitin Sawhney Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The seal of prophesy
Between the darkness and the light
Everyone must choose
Universal blues
Wisdom is the key
To the heart of the prophesy
The seal of prophesy
Messengers have come and gone

The struggle goes on
Synagogue temple mask church
Each and evey place we search
The seal of prophesy
Old ones will see visions
Young ones will dream dreams
Time of change conditions
Til nothing as it seems
The seal of prophesy

The seal of prophesy
Everyone must choose
Universal blues

Universal blues
Universal blues

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Nitin Sawhney's song The Preacher paint a picture of an individual in search of spiritual enlightenment. The reference to the "seal of prophesy" speaks to the idea that there is a universal truth or knowledge that lies at the core of all religions and spiritual practices. The line "everyone must choose" suggests that the journey towards spiritual enlightenment is a personal and individual one, and requires an active decision to seek it out. The mention of the "darkness and the light" reinforces this idea, as it implies that there is a choice to be made between following a path that is illuminated and guided by knowledge, or one that is consumed by ignorance and darkness.

Throughout the song, there is an emphasis on the struggle that comes with this search for spiritual truth, as well as the idea that different religions and spiritual practices are all pursuing the same end goal. The lyrics mention "messengers" who have come and gone, suggesting that there have been many paths to enlightenment throughout history, and that this search has been ongoing for centuries. The mention of "synagogue temple mask church" further reinforces the idea that religion takes many forms, and that different cultures and communities have developed their own unique ways of seeking out the universal truth.

Ultimately, the song reflects on the idea that this journey towards spiritual enlightenment is a never-ending one, and that it requires constant introspection and self-examination. The line "old ones will see visions, young ones will dream dreams" suggests that the pursuit of spiritual truth is a timeless one, and that people of all ages and backgrounds can tap into this universal wisdom. The repetition of the phrase "universal blues" reinforces this idea, as it suggests that the search for spiritual enlightenment is something that transcends cultural and linguistic barriers, and is something that all humans share.

Line by Line Meaning

The seal of prophesy
The divine message of fate that is to be conveyed

Between the darkness and the light
The point where good and evil coincide

Everyone must choose
Each person must make a decision in life

Universal blues
The melancholic emotion that is common among all human beings

Wisdom is the key
The ability to understand is essential to decipher the divine message

To the heart of the prophesy
The core of the divine message that must be discovered

Messengers have come and gone
Prophets and other divine messengers have lived and died

The struggle goes on
The battle between good and evil persists

Synagogue temple mask church
Religious institutions that are looked to for answers

Each and evey place we search
Humans look for answers to the divine message in all places

Old ones will see visions
Experienced individuals will have prophetic visions