Embrace the Darkness in our Souls

Falah Faisal

Touring life can be hectic for a musician; travelling to new cities, playing in front of strangers and then getting on the road again. Shashwat Bulusu a singer-songwriter, producer and visual artist from the pocket city Vadodra is winding up the first leg of his Aabad Tour in Bengaluru having played shows in Mumbai and Hyderabad in the last two days.

“The audience in Hyderabad drinks too much man, I was having to play over this wall of sound and people talking throughout the set,” says Bulusu as he finishes sound-check and the audience begins to trickle in. For people in the city, travelling to Yeswantpur to see the gig might feel a bit much, but some have come all the way from Chennai to attend the event. One of them is Aman, a sound engineering student, who heard Shashwat’s music on streaming and felt he simply had to check it out

Shashwat recently released two singles, ‘Aabad’ and ‘Charkha’, which will be a part of his soon-to-be released album that he is here to promote. Talking about the songs, he says, "‘Aabad’ and ‘Charkha’ are two songs written, recorded, then rewritten and re-recorded over months. This process became quite ritualistic, while ‘Aabad’ was the song being made at night right before sleep, ‘Charkha’ was the song being written first thing in the morning, both in my head. Naturally, the songs became a call and response to what was being said in them. ‘Aabad’ reflects unfettered hope for better days to come. ‘Charkha’ responds to this hope and argues for unfettered perseverance to get to better days almost like a horse with blinds on."

The music performance is interspersed with stories that introduce the songs and sometimes Bulusu talking the audience right from the heart about his experience touring and seeking validation from strangers from different parts of the country. The long winding shaggy dog stories that remind you of Norm Macdonald are kind of lost on the unsuspecting audience who has come expecting music. But those who get it, sit in the back and chuckle at the innovative performance. Sounds of the rain and crickets around are right on cue and add to the feel overall.

For the last two songs, he unplugs his guitar and gets off-stage asking for the audience to form a circle, so they can share intimacy as he performs ‘Shahadata’, which is about loneliness and embracing our inner darkness before playing ‘Aabad’ to close off the set. When asked what he prefers after the show, a drunk audience or a sober one, he says, “I prefer a sober one any day. Don’t have to contend with the noise and people are attentive. They probably aren’t responding yet because they aren’t used to it, but we will get there.”

One can only imagine what the music might evolve to once he has a backing band in place to support his soulful singing, something he promises is in the works. He will finally be able to catch a breather before the second leg of his tour in September when he will play shows in Delhi, Jaipur and Mohali.

You can check out his music on his website  https:// shashwatbulusu.com/