Nicholson have changed their name to Lands, and you can find them on Facebook here.
Over the course of the next few weeks, we’re thrilled to announce that we will be hosting the exclusive releases of Nicholson’s video trilogy. Considering he’s been our blue-eyed indie artist of the year, we never doubted that these visual encapsulations would be anything short of stupendous but even we’ve been caught off guard by the sheer artfulness of these videos. In accompaniment with each video, we will also be releasing interviews with the trinity of people who are most instrumental in the making of these--Nicholson himself for the music, Sachin S. Pillai, the one-man production powerhouse who conceptualized and created these visual pairings, and the various actors who delivered shockingly convincing performances in each. For Part I/III (featuring MADBOY/MINK’s Saba Azad) we caught up with Sohrab Nicholson himself, to shed some light on what this trilogy means to him.
I. “I wanted a candid depiction of intimacy – Indian cinema rarely depicts relationships realistically. I wanted to make it really raw and uncomfortable for people to watch – and if the couple on screen is going to kiss, they’re really going to kiss, and not peck at each other awkwardly.”
Building up to the release of his new EP, Nicholson’s upcoming video trilogy has had us in rapt anticipation since its announcement. This is a man who’s been causing tremors with his mesmerising voice since his debut this year, blending his wistful lyrics with hair-raising harmonies. The 3-track EP, which is slated to be out next month features a rework of his previous material, as well as some unreleased material that will leave you with a serious case of goosebumps. Set in one thematic space, the videos – like his lyrics - are evocative and haunting, taking a look at conflictual emotions, love and intimacy.
Watch Part I/III below:
II. “I wanted to depict a story about relationships, and about women, that really hits home. The films centre on two individuals who are equals in a relationship – equally responsible for attracting each other, for turning each other on, driving each other crazy and driving each other away... The material is loosely based on a relationship I was in; there are two energies in every relationship, and all it takes is for one person to pull away to change the dynamic.”
Sohrab, who generally doesn’t like to elaborate on the context of his lyrical writing, ruminates that his style of writing is a blend of observational and personal, remarking that one song is sometimes about different observations from four different relationships. His face lights up when he talks about the video trilogy, calling it a ‘complete labour of love’ and explaining that it was important to have to ‘portray such raw, seething emotion in such beautiful locations’. Working with the one-man production powerhouse Sachin S Pillai, and actors that he cast himself, he is radiant when he says, “It was as though something in the world parted to make these happen.”
III. “Even with my material, the idea was to write for video, to write more visually. I generally use photographs, references and I do a lot of people-watching.”
Sachin S Pillai, whose work ethic Sohrab is immensely inspired by, was the one who conceptualised, directed and edited the videos, his keen aesthetic sense interpreting Sohrab’s downtempo electronica and making it come to life on screen.
The cast of actors includes Saba Azad from MADBOY/MINK in the first video, set in the streets of Bombay, in architect Kunaal Kyhaan Seolekar’s picturesque house and a clearing near Kolad dam. A willowy, emotive protagonist in the video, we promise you will not be able to take your eyes off her. Paloma Monappa and Mihir Joglekar deliver emotionally-charged performances in the second video, set in The Machan Resort and the misty meadows in Lonavala. Anjali Mody and Karan Pandit are in the third video, the darkest and most stylised of the lot, in which Anjali apparently ‘blew it out of the park’ with her performance, shot at a beach in Alibaug.
Sohrab reflects upon how, although he’s seen such a lot of videos centred upon similar themes of sensuality and emotional conflicts, they never seemed to press on anything real. With this series of videos, he explores his creative voice in a new way, depicting emotions that he feels a lot of people will be able to identify with, in a world riddled with ‘Do Not’ signs.
IV. “Somehow, as a culture, we’ve put this taboo on intimacy,” Sohrab says. “I feel like in India, right now, we’re fussing about issues like revoking Section 377, domestic violence and rape – but we attach so little value to relationships. Kissing is bad, touching is bad, PDA is bad – prior to exterior influences, we’ve been a fairly sexual culture, historically, if you think about it. We’re essentially the land of the Kama Sutra. It was only with the British rule that the Victorian prudeishness sort of set in, and now – somehow – we think it is a part of our culture. If we embrace intimacy, we’d be eliminating a lot of problems in society, such as gender-based violence.”
Behind the scenes in the Studio, is Rohan Ramanna, a hugely instrumental part of Sohrab’s sound, who produces the studio material as well as plays drums in the live show.
“My music is totally a collaboration between Rohan Ramanna and I in studio; he is as close to what’s inside my head as possible. He takes my songs and ideas and finds away every time to decipher what it is that i’m going for. And then there’s the live show, where the Dirty Jays comprising of Jehangir Jehangir and Stuart D’costa bring a totally fresh element to the table. I feel really lucky and grateful to have found such talented musicians to play with.”
“Sohrab just walked into the studio one day, and played us a few songs on the piano and left us all very intrigued,” Rohan recalls. “That’s the day I met him. We’ve become like brothers since then, spent a lot of time brainstorming, sharing references, jamming and writing music. It was all a very organic process – I feel like I’m just a facilitator in this whole process, since he didn’t initially have the technical know-how to execute his ideas. Since we’re on the same wavelength in terms of the aesthetics, I was kind of like a bridge. Sachin also had a really strong vision for this, and I didn’t want to dilute it. This EP really sort of ties everything up, with respect to his material so far.”
The series of videos is an exercise in subtlety, all quiet captures and shots of fragile moments – think slender fingers, napes of necks and oscillating emotions, that’ll linger with you long after the reprises have faded.