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For someone moving from a small town to a big city like Bombay, there are initial experiences of feeling lost among the crowd. The roads are unfamiliar, the city rushes by while you try to catch up, but this is all trumped by wide-eyed wonder – at the opportunities that await, at the sheer freedom to be whoever you want to be and to do whatever you want to do, provided you have the heart and hunger for it.
The first time I heard the song Shaayad by Taba Chake from the album Bombay Dreams, I had just moved to the city and I could understand every feeling that influenced the lines. The 26-year-old fingerstyle guitarist and singer-songwriter moved to Bombay from Arunachal Pradesh with the dreaming of making it as a solo act. Hailing from a small village called Rono in the Papumpare district, Chake has always had music in his life and was initially a guitar player and composer for varying bands until he decided to strike out on his own.
While he considers his hard work and perseverance as traits that have helped further his career, he considers his family as the biggest aspect that helped him grow as an artist. He said, “today when I look back at my family memories, I realize that they always had good taste in music and were very good listeners. Though they are not musicians nor from a musical family background, they have a soulful heart that appreciated music.”
Considering himself as an old schoolboy when it comes to his music style, Chake has captured a mood in his album that combines the influence of a wholesome life surrounded by nature but also the anxiety of self-exploration that the modern youth goes through. His sound is completely original and in the album Bombay Dreams, he seamlessly strings together songs in Hindi, English and his native language of Nyishi. Even when you cannot understand the lyrics, his music speaks of the inspirations that drove him. “I like to write about the journey of life and about having hope and faith. I am influenced by my own life and mistakes and it involves a lot of trial and error songwriting that I have been doing from my childhood. I get a lot of messages from people or fans saying that my songs communicate a lot of positivity that gives them hope to move ahead in life and face their obstacle or reality.”
When asked about the story behind Bombay Dreams, Chake talked about his move to Bombay from Arunachal Pradesh back in 2014- 15 and the struggles of creating his own space and audience. The album for him is something that gives him hope, and he dedicates it to people who are dreaming of achieving something in their life. Considering his creative process as that of most songwriters, Chake said it stems from personal stories, how he was brought up, and that the most beautiful part of writing music is the journey. Holding steadfast to the need to be truthful to yourself and the people who love you, Chake concluded that above all, ‘hope’ is the message that he is trying to communicate through every song he makes.
You can stay tuned to his music and know about his future projects on his instagram.
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