Arts
After Cadence, a more melodious ‘Kingdoms of earth’
Sanjeev Niles. Pic by Aabhishek Gunaratnam
“In another age, in another time, our souls be lost, and then you will be mine”, the lyrics softly take control; guided by the soft notes of the piano to deliver something hauntingly beautiful.
Classical Baritone Sanjeev Niles’ latest single, ‘Kingdoms of the earth’, which was released in January speaks about love and loss. Opening with the soft combination of the piano and the violin, the music takes the listener away from the bustle of the city, to greener pastures, where everything seems so simple and love seems to have a deeper meaning.
Lyrically speaking, “Kingdoms is more of a passion-driven song. It is however not your everyday love song, rather it tends to trod down a much more poignant pathway touching a deeper sense of emotions combined with that lost longing of hope.
“There’s a lot of darkness in the music but I always try to bring an element of hope through,” Sanjeev tells us.
Sanjeev has been singing since his schooldays and had performed with the Colombo Philharmonic Choir and the Merry-An Singers. However composing and releasing his own music started off with his first single “Cadence of your tears,” which was released last year.
Cadence appealed to a wide cross section of people. “The heavy metal audience was very receptive of it. But the classical purists didn’t like it very much,” he said.
Even though his two singles will be a part of his upcoming album this year, Sanjeev tells us that both songs are on different levels. In terms of chord sequences and melodic lines, “Kingdoms” may have a connection with “Cadence”, however lyrically they bear no link. This is because Cadence was primarily written by Stigmata’s Suresh de Silva.
“Cadence” also did have an influence in terms of how “Kingdoms” was released, for it taught Sanjeev how people react to his music and how the industry works both locally and internationally.
“So in terms of how I launched this single, I tried to do some of the things that I learnt through Cadence,which is why I released a lyric video alongside the audio track for Kingdoms.”
Sanjeev has had various musical influences over the years. Vocally he is inspired by the classical and heavy metal genres. Composers like Puccini and older composers like Bach have had a long standing impact in his life.
“It is that kind of tonality and the vibes that they created with their music that I liked a lot. When it comes to heavy metal, it was ‘Iron Maiden’ and ‘Nevermore’,” he says, adding that he also is drawn to the music of John Denver, Abba and Simon and Garfunkel.
Finding time for his music, his work (Sanjeev runs the operations for a European software company based in Sri Lanka) and his family keep him busy. “Balancing it is not easy but I try my best.”
“Kingdoms of the earth” could be accessed through Soundcloud.com/sanjeevniles. For further information regarding his upcoming music, listeners could also follow his Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sanjeevniles/?fref=ts