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The first single I bought
Before I became an indie kid and got into Arctic Monkeys, Maxïmo Park and Bloc Party, there was this explosion of British/south Asian music in the early 00s, so I bought Dance With You (Nachna Tere Naal) by Rishi Rich Project featuring Jay Sean and Juggy D from Tesco Extra. It felt like a moment for south Asians in the UK.
The first song I fell in love with
I grew up in a village in Cambridge and we’d always have BBC Asian Network or CDs of the latest Bollywood soundtracks playing. I loved Taal Se Taal Mila from the movie Taal; AR Rahman did the soundtrack, who went on to win an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire. Taal means rhythm – the film is a musical and it encouraged me to learn the dilruba [a type of bowed sitar]. I only saw the movie once, but the visuals of the songs have stayed with me.
The song I do at karaoke
I’m not much of a karaoke guy. The one time I did it, I did Tribute by Tenacious D which is just such a fun, silly song. You can’t take karaoke too seriously.
The song I inexplicably know every lyric to
My older sister bought Take a Look Around by Limp Bizkit from Mission: Impossible II. I loved the way they’d adapted the Mission: Impossible theme and turned it into metal rap. I can still do a fairly good job of reciting all the lyrics.
The best song to play at a party
If you don’t dance to September by Earth, Wind & Fire, there’s something wrong with you.
The song I can no longer listen to
My kids are obsessed with Let It Go, so it gets massively overplayed in the car and the house. But I also maintain that the music from Frozen II is a lot better.
The song I secretly like
It’s not cool to like Coldplay. It felt like they were part of the indie and alternative music scene I liked before they decided to fill out stadiums and people didn’t like them any more. I know a lot of people who would turn their nose up at Princess of China, the one they did with Rihanna, but it’s a pretty good pop tune.
The best song to have sex to
Sharpness by Jamie Woon is a very sexy song – although I can’t claim to have done that to it.
The song that changed my life
I was floored when I heard Nadia by Nitin Sawhney. His music impacted me in terms of bridging that gap between my identities as a British south Asian. It’s got this classical Indian vocal and then this huge drum’n’bass drop. It’s a perfect bit of music.
The song that makes me cry
Child of Mine by Laura Marling is a beautiful song about parenthood.
The song I’d like played at my funeral
Undercurrents, this beautiful piano piece by Dylan Phillips, the singer of one of my favourite bands, Half Moon Run. The image is one of a life lived and it’s just a beautiful piece of music.
The Assessment is on Prime Video now.
