In May this year Worker Bee‘s (an entertainment company based out of Chandigarh) homebois announced their first official cross-country tour with Samar Mehdi and Saby Singh two of the finest singer-songwriters with 25 shows across 22 Indian cities over one-and-a-half months. The Tour now comes to Namma Bengaluru with Samar and Saby performing at The Courtyard on June 28, 2019. Hai Khabar is the biggest cross country tour in the Indie music circuit. Kunal Malhotra- founder of Worker Bee says, “Saby and Samar Mehdi enjoy their fan following in the metropolitan cities and the other parts of the country alike. It is not limited to one demographic. It is far and diverse. With this tour, we wanted to take over all of that. We have worked rigorously to put together every detail to ensure that we and our fans do not miss out on anything.” Tickets for Hai Khabar are available on Instamojo and buying them entitles the buyer to a digital copy of Samar Mehdi’s debut EP ‘Urooj’ and an exclusive sneak peek into the pre-production of Saby’s upcoming music.
Hai Khabar is halfway through; covering cities of Jammu, Solan, Chandigarh, Lucknow, New Delhi, Jaipur, Nagpur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat and Goa. Saby Singh who is classically trained, says his most valuable asset is his ear. “My grandfather taught me in unconventional ways that I am now beginning to understand. He focused more on developing my instincts than making me learn all the theory. I think that helped me establish my routine as a songwriter more than anything. I always wanted to be a physicist but later in life music became a way for me to understand who I am and what my purpose is.” For someone who writes songs around silence and not the other way around, his influences are diverse.” I’ve grown up listening to Rafi Saab, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey and my mom who by the way is an exceptional singer. Later, I discovered the American rock and when British music came into my life, it changed and I wanted to be in a band. Right now I’m listening to a lot of prog and singer songwriters.” Samar Mehdi who comes from a middle-class family in Bhopal admits that sneaking away to learn musical instruments from a young age made his connect with music stronger as he grew up. “I decided to become a full-time musician when it became obvious that I was not going to be able to do music on the side of anything. I was 28 when I left my job in Mumbai and came back home to put all else aside and work on my music.” A percussive finger-style guitarist he explains that percussive-fingerstyle essentially means emulating the sounds of an entire band or ensemble on the acoustic guitar. “I started writing music in this format because I have always written songs that involve multi-layered arrangements and I didn’t want to compromise on that even though I was going to perform them solo. It was a question of what works best for my songs. I also reconnected with a 10-year old version of me who wanted to push his ability to the limit and push those limits further ahead.”
The duo, naturally have a great vibe going among themselves. “If there is an artist who I’d have loved to tour with, it would have been Samar. There is so much to learn from him. His approach to music, how ambitious he is about his art, his interpretations of rhythms, the excellence in being that musician, it is an absolute delight and a privilege touring with such a fine musician,” says Saby. Samar echoes his thoughts and avers, “Saby is a rare gem in the Indian Indie scene and it has been an honour to go on tour with him and witness him perform his art under different scenarios. When he is performing, I am no longer a co-artist who is on tour with him, but a huge fan who is in awe of what he creates. It is incredible how different our music is, and how similar we are at the same time. It just fits together into one big show, instead of two separate, unrelated acts.” Looking ahead Saby is releasing an EP as soon as the tour ends and is also working on a full length album that he will be producing himself and should release in 2020. Samar at this point, wants to focus on short-term goals and is working very hard to have his music reach more people every day. He is also expected to release his second EP soon and promises that plenty of new stuff is on the way.
- What: Hai Khabar tour in Namma Bengaluru
- When: June 28, Friday, 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm
- Where: The Courtyard, 105, KH Road (Lalbagh Double Rd), Opp. Corporation Bank, Shanti Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560027
- Tickets available at InstaMoja
- Ticket cost: Rs. 400
This story first appeared in Deccan Chronicle dated June 28, 2019 here: