BENGALURU : Sanjeev Thomas sure knows how to breathe life into a guitar but the musician chooses to be humble about this. He says the thumb rule of being good at anything is to be passionate about it. And one can find the same amount of passion and emotion in his latest track, Bure Khayal. The track is from his album Future, which throws light on mental health through the struggles of a LGBTQIA+ couple. The official music video was dropped last week and has reached 2 lakh views already on YouTube.
The lockdown brought about feelings of being low in many and Thomas says he was no different. “The album comes from a personal space and this particular track focuses on the negative and dark thoughts that an individual goes through. During this time of loss, most of us have no choice but to think of something positive to help oneself out,” says the city-based singer-composer, adding that the song is the third track from the album, which he started working on when the lockdown was imposed.
A sought-after name in the music scene, Thomas has been in the industry for more than 16 years and has worked with AR Rahman, Sid Sriram and Prashanth Pillai. But while success is easy to take note of, the days of struggles often go unnoticed. But the one thing that keeps Thomas going is his love for music. “This is completely passion driven. If you are passionate about things, then even living on instant noodles for days is easy,” he says.
Thomas found his calling for music during his Bachelors in Commerce in Chennai. After having decided to quit academics, the musician had to convince his family of his decision. “My father definitely needed some time to be fine with it. The pressure was not just coming from concern but also from the questions that society would have regarding my decision,” says Thomas, who started learning the guitar at the age of five, after his father encouraged him. The youngster then took to guitar like a fish takes to water. “I loved the ’70s band Bee Gees and I always wanted to be like the guitarist Barry Gibb,” he adds.
After many free performances and playing with various bands, Thomas’ journey in music took off professionally in 2005. While there have been many high points in his career, one was his collaborations with the Mozart of Madras. Their first work came out in 2007 for One Love - Taj Anthem, an independent song that urged people to vote for Taj Mahal as one of the seven wonders of the world. He was also a part of the Jai Ho World tour in 2010.
“I was one of the few Indians among the many foreigners who were playing Western instruments. That was definitely a highlight for me,” says the 40-year-old singer-composer. While fans are still waiting for more collaborations, the musician says, “With AR Rahman nothing is planned. It just happens.”Currently, Thomas is busy with projects with Sid Sriram, a USA-based music producer and singer, whose songs like Samajavaragamana (Telugu) and Adiye (Tamil) have been chartbusters.