After earning accolades and awards with his debut album, Stairway to Nirvana, Indian-born composer, producer and guitarist Samir Bodhi builds on his new age vision through his second album, MEMORIES OF EMPATHY. Samir brings a Western-influenced collection resting on its Eastern foundations, driven by his need to restore empathy among a sea of human self-absorption. By bringing together different styles of music, Samir encourages listeners to reminisce fondly on where they come from, and what is meaningful, to enhance their compassion for their neighbors.

Samir Bodhi (aka Prof. Samir Chatterjee of Claremont, CA) engaged legendary artists, family, and friends for the project including guitarist/bassist Sanjoy Das, American multi-instrumentalist David Vito Gregoli, Indian film composer, keyboardist Louis Banks (“Godfather of Indian Jazz”) and Bollywood vocalist Madhumita Chatterjee. Beginning with songs rooted in Indian ragas – “Affinity” and “Have and Have Nots” – each track adopts a more Western sound as the journey progresses. The collection wraps up with a luscious and transcending tune “World of Empathy” – accompanied by India’s “godfather of jazz” Louis Banks – a piece that is heavily influenced by Western music while reminding listeners of its Eastern roots.

Bodhi bands together with friends and renowned musicians to produce a new age fusion of traditional Indian melodies and instruments merged with relaxing Western beats. The album has been referred to as one that blueprints a new world order suitable for fans of various interests, musical tastes, and lifestyles.

“Music to me stems from nature and manifests its sights and sounds into melody lines. In Indian mythology, we worship Goddess Saraswati as the God of music. It is divine in its many forms. My home studio where I compose is like a temple. Songs and lyrics reflect what is happening in our surroundings and hopefully can uplift people. Music gives me peace.”

Bodhi envisions the album to have an important impact on all listeners. He says, “If we want to create a more peaceful world, we all must start with empathy, putting one in another person’s situation. I hope that the six tracks we have created in the new album will bring peace and help people to have more empathy in their lives. I hope they take some time to understand someone else’s situation, to be empathetic.”

Bodhi’s new album serves as a greater reflection of his multifaceted perspectives as an Indian-born musical visionary and internationally-recognized scientist and scholar who thrives in pursuit of his ambitions. The album piggybacks off Bodhi’s greater vision to connect people beyond their many differences through music, a vision that he began with his first album two years ago.

Indian and western music are two vastly different musical cultures, traditional music supports a culture in which this music is played, and reflects the characteristics of people in that area. Some modern music focuses on how the music combined and integrated with a technology. The sound on Memories of Compassion adds a spiritual dimension.

“I was born and raised in Calcutta, India. It is perhaps the richest cultural city in India. Growing up I listened to mostly Indian film music, which today is popular as Bollywood music. But at the same time, I was an avid listener of rock, jazz and fusion bands of the west. In Calcutta, there is a strip called Park Street that was surrounded by some great clubs which had awesome jazz and pop bands. In college I had a band myself and we would perform “brick on the wall” by Pink Floyd at college fests. Then I immigrated to the USA in 1989. What this has done is that I have developed a keen sense of western harmonization, chord progressions and jazz while at the same time I have a solid understanding of Indian classical and popular music. My own music has always blended these two different genres. I try to compose Indian melody lines but use western sounds for arrangements.”

Owing to India’s vastness and diversity, Indian music encompasses numerous genres in multiple varieties and forms which include very distinct folk genres based on region, as well as film music and adhunik or modern music. Because it is also an improvised art, it means that each musician of succeeding generations can not only add a great deal of creativity but also set a distinct personal style.

“I listened to a lot of Hindi Film music by composers such as RD Burman, Salil Chowdhury and Madan Mohan. I was also listening to Steely Dan, Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, the Beatles, Roger Whitaker, Kenny Rogers, Deep Purple and others. My home state of Bengal in India has a very rich cultural heritage when it comes to art, music, and cinema. I was influenced by Bengali music composers and singers and had the opportunity to meet and work with some of them. There is one particular genre of music called Ghazals. These are Hindi/Urdu poetry that is composed as a song. I used to listen to Ghazals by Jagjit Singh. In fact he used a lot of bass and guitars in his ghazals. That also influenced me quite a bit. Later I was fortunate enough to perform with him.”

Memories of Empathy is a product of cooperation among talented artists working alongside Bodhi to reminisce on more empathetic days. The album features three tracks co-produced by guitarist/bassist Sanjoy Das and three by American multi-instrumentalist David Vito Gregoli.

The musicians heard on Memories of Empathy are Sanjoy Das on Guitar, Bass; David Vito Gregoli on Synth, Piano, 6 & 12 String guitars, Bass, Fretless bass, Irish Bouzouki, Mandolin, Dumbek, Accordion, Cello, Sarangi samples, 808 drums, Gondola sounds; Samir Bodhi on Nylon Guitar, Ableton; Partha Paul on Synth, Saxophone, Rhythm Programming; Sandip Chatterjee on Santoor; Subir Ray on Indian flute; Joydeb Nandi on Tabla; and Louis Banks on Electronic Piano. Banks is a legendary Indian film composer and Indosphere keyboardist, also known as the “Godfather of Indian jazz.”

He has a fascinating history, his father Pushkar Bahadur joined a European-styled band touring India and changed his name to George Banks. He later changed his son’s name to Louis in tribute to Louis Armstrong. His grandfather Bakhat Bahadur Budapirti composed the Nepalese national anthem. The track begins with the sound of an opening door, releasing a nostalgic horn sound, with amazing glitchy warbles. “World of Empathy” (6:48) seeks to open the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be feeling, featuring a magical melodic keyboard that brings the message home, closing with the sound of a closing door, and footsteps.

A Samir Bodhi album isn’t complete without transcendent vocals. Bollywood singer Madhumita Chatterjee and Indian classical vocalist Supriyo Dutta’s vocals can be heard on the album’s “Have and Have Nots” track. Madhumita Chatterjee has co-sung with legends such as Anup Jalota and Kumar Sanu, and has collaborated with several composers in India and Hollywood; she and Samir Bodhi are married. Supriyo Dutta has performed all over the world and trained under critically acclaimed Indian classical artists such as Pandit Ramkrishna Basu.

Critics have already raved about Samir Bodhi’s latest collection, speaking highly of its ability to revive human spirits and its uplifting essence. Vivek Kumar, writing for New Music Alert, opines, “He infuses a lofty purpose into his music, every time coming up with a startling new theme connected to reviving human spirits and emancipating human feelings. The end results from his compositions wish to transform humans and revive the world.”

Memories of Empathy is available for purchase on Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/y88un7ca.

TRACK LISTING:
Have and Have Nots 5:55
Heaven So High 4:29
Affinity 6:32
Compassion-Karuna 5:38
Indifference 4:43
World of Empathy 6:48

TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 32:45

Buy or Stream Memories of Empathy:
https://www.samirbodhi.com/