Shadowland - Nitin Sawhney: Song Lyrics, Music Videos & Concerts

Shadowland

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World

Shadowland was released on June 4, 2013 by Reservoir Recordings as a part of the album Onezero

Song Details

Release DateJune 4, 2013

LabelReservoir Recordings

LanguageEnglish

Melodicness

Acousticness

Valence

Danceability

Energy

BPM162

OVERVIEW

LYRICS

Music Video

Music Video

Credits

PERFORMING ARTISTS

Nitin Sawhney

Band

COMPOSITION & LYRICS

Nitin Sawhney

Composer

Ojos de Brujo

Composer

PRODUCTION & ENGINEERING

Nitin Sawhney

Producer

Lyrics

This track was one of the most enjoyable to do. I recorded it in Spain

With Ojos de Brujo who are one of my favourite bands. They're a

Flamenco hip-hop band from Barcelona. And it was a great experience

Because, really, what I love about Ojos de Brujo is they've got a

Very good kind of, I don't know, they've got this amazing spirit

Between them that they're a true collective. They don't have leaders

They just all make decisions together about the way they work. And

I kind of, I mean, I've called this Shadowland, this track, and it's

For me, it's kind of dedicated to the homeless of London because I

Kind of feel like there's an amazing kind of spirit that comes from

People who can get through the hardship of living on the streets

And I kind of feel that there's a kind of, I mean, I've always said

From oppression you get expression. And that's something I've noticed

When I've gone to South Africa and I saw what happened, you know

With the music of people like Bheki Mseleku and Abdullah Ibrahims

And Hugh Masekela and, you know, a lot of amazing jazz musicians

Who expressed something very special against apartheid. And I kind

Of think there's a sound on the streets, there's a feeling when you

See people, you know, making music out of, I mean, you find this in

India when you find these incredible flautists. And invariably you'll

Hear this amazing music and quite often you'll turn around and find

Out that the flautist is blind. And this happened quite a few times

Where they just are so tuned into something else, something quite

Different. And so I kind of, I felt like this song, this piece of

Music really got across that same spirit and energy that I kind of

Feel when I'm passing by somebody who's maybe playing a harmonica or

Playing a small guitar, just asking for money on London Bridge or

You know, somewhere around there. There's something really magical

And powerful about that person's spirit that really comes out very

Well. And I thought, you know, that I see the same

Spirit and the same energy in the way Ojos de Brujo

Attack their music. But they have a magic about them

As well and I think that's what I wanted to get across

Beautiful. I think this is just, it's interesting that the

Instrumental pieces can take you somewhere very quickly and

Powerfully. And I think that mixture of the flute and the flamenco is

Extraordinary how transporting it is. And I guess, you know, we

Talked about shadows before and here it is again. Here's this

Impossible moment in a way where we've got a shadow in the dark

But maybe that's just what music can do. You know, it can take you

Somewhere very quickly away from the physical surroundings that

You are and put you somewhere else. And that's what I felt about

This track, this sort of fluidity. Thinking about homeless, I do

Think that they're, in a way, you know, for me, the most powerful

Sort of monument that we have now. In the old days, you know

Outside Waterloo Bridge, that extraordinary cardboard city. The way

That this, in a way, lost bit of the city became inhabited and made

Again by people, you know, making it their home. And the way that

You know, I remember the first time I went to Washington, the way

That people sleeping in the streets were more powerful than the

Lincoln Monument or the Great Obelisk. That here at the heart of

American government, you've got, in a way, the most powerful

Indictment of social inequality. And I think I feel the

Same in London, which is all to do with a way of quiet

Kind of heroism. This is all we need, a cardboard box

A blanket. And it just reminds us, I mean, it reminds us

Of all of those things that, in a way, we take for granted

Written by: Ojos de Brujo, Sawhney

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