Originally from India and now based in Los Angeles, Shabam’s music is inspired by elements of folk, R&B, soul and pop.
Shabam has begun to make a name for himself with his emotional songwriting and impactful melodies.
Now returning with his second single, the piano ballad ‘Sleepless Nights’, Shabam once again demonstrates his prowess as both a performer and a songwriter.
Mixed and mastered by Katsuya Sezaki and Minyun Ko, ‘Sleepless Nights’ opens with a delicate solo piano before introducing Shabam’s effortless, ultra controlled vocal delivery. As the track builds into a sumptuous chorus packed with layers of breathy vocal harmonies and cinematic strings, Shabam flexes his vocal ability with falsetto vocal runs.
Influenced by the likes of Jason Mraz, Tori Kelly and Yebba, Shabam captures a distinct honesty in his performance as well as a striking completeness to his sound despite being only his second release.
Tell us about the genesis of your project. How did you get to where you are now?
If I am being completely honest, my journey hasn’t been the easiest, although I also can’t deny that if certain things hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. As a kid, I was always taught to earn my place and I was never handed anything in my hands. I remember working hard for every single thing I wanted in my life, that’s how I was raised by my parents. I am lucky they instilled these things in me.
I remember my Dad would always talk about things like never compromising when it comes to your self-respect, dignity etc. He always told me that he wanted only one thing from me and that was being a good human being, he always believed that if you could do that, you have won half the race and he wasn’t wrong.
After I moved to Mumbai to complete my graduation, there were certain people who didn’t like the way I was progressing towards my goals. You’ll always meet such people in your life, in that moment you think why is the whole world against you? Why isn’t anything going your way? Is this how it feels like to follow your dreams?
This is the test all of us have to pass. This is where I had to apply everything I was taught by my parents. I was always big on self-belief, even on the bad days I never stopped believing in myself.
I consider myself lucky that I was able to go through these experiences because they made me stronger as a human being and gave me a completely different perspective towards life. I guess that’s the reason I was able to reach where I am today.
What should a song or piece of art communicate in your opinion?
The most attractive thing that I find in a song or a piece of art is ‘Authenticity’. The reason why we feel close to arts and the reason why it triggers so many emotions is because just by listening to a song or looking at a piece of art, you can actually try to imagine what the song or that particular piece of art is trying to tell you.
The most beautiful thing about art is that we can all have our interpretations to it, to some it might be emotional, to some it might remind them of something precious in their lives. People can have their own meaning to it.
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
It definitely has to be Tori Kelly, Yebba and Jason Mraz.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
We always have to be aware of the fact that we are all human beings which means we all have flaws, none of us can be perfect. We all have bad days, what’s important is how we look at those bad days and try to make it a good day. When I am feeling uninspired, there isn’t a particular method that I follow. I am a very intuitive person so I follow what my heart tells me to do. I would sometimes do nothing and just sit and spend time by myself.
Enjoying your own company is something which is very important. I would read a book about someone who inspires me and that would
eventually inspire me and even on a bad day, I would learn a thing or two. Most of the time when something like this happens, I prefer spending a lot of time by myself.
What are your 2022 projects and goals?
I have grown immensely last year and I plan to continue to do so. A lot of things have happened in the past 3-4 months. It’s all about patience and doing what you do best every single day. I plan to release more songs, grow my social media profiles even more, and start performing more often. I also recently joined a local LA choir and it has been a great experience working with them. I look forward to performing with them more often. I also started working as an assistant for one of the musicians in the industry who also happens to be my mentor.
Favorite movie or TV show?
This is a tough one to answer. I could name at least 10 but you give me no choice hence I have to pick one. Favorite Movie would be ‘Forrest Gump’ and favorite show would be ‘Itaewon Class’, it’s a Korean show. I recently started listening to a lot of Korean music and watching Korean shows, they are beyond amazing and I am obsessed with them.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about?
It’s called ‘Sleepless Nights’ and I wrote this song last year thinking about two characters in my head. Even though the song might sound emotional, it talks about ‘Hope’. It talks about two people where one person is trying to help the other person who is kinda in a place to see what’s on the other side of the tunnel.
We often tend to give up when things get hard, we never want to leave our comfort zone and hence giving up always seem to the be the easy option. We don’t realize our actual potential until we fight amongst ourselves to become a better version of ourselves. That’s what you see when you are on the other side of the tunnel, you have to go through all the difficulties in order to achieve whatever you have always wanted to achieve.
I also want to add one more thing to the process of the song, like I mentioned before, it was merely a story in my head initially and it wasn’t something that had happened in reality. This year while I was in the process of recording with my producer, he was just going through the song and he realized that what I had written about a year ago was actually happening in reality in my life. I know it sounds crazy but that’s how music works. All of a sudden the song became really personal and I was able to relate to the song like never before.
What is something you would want to change in the music and entertainment industry?
I am not one of those people who likes to complain. I know people out there would say a lot of things bad about the industry. I have a completely different opinion. None of it matters if you want it really bad for yourself. You would get there no matter what, no matter how difficult it gets. I honestly don’t have anything to complain about. I am super proud of my progress and I only focus on getting better.
Can you outline your creative process?
I always get excited whenever someone asks me this question. You must have heard people saying that singer-songwriters are supposed to write every single day, as much as they can. Believe me I have tried it and it doesn’t quite work the same way with me. We have to realize all of us have a different way of approach when it comes to writing a song.
For me, I have never followed one particular process, I would definitely say that I have strengths in coming up with really good vocal melodies, it’s something I am good at naturally. There have been times where I have written a song where I have had the lyrics first, other times I have had the vocal melody first and sometimes I just have a few beats in my head that I want to try.
Once I lay down one of these things, I just start building over them and the next thing you know, the song is ready. I like the songs to come to me and not for me to write a song forcefully. That’s basically my process.
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
I am a big fan of myself. To some people it might sound egoistic but there is nothing wrong in loving yourself so I am my own inspiration when it comes to my style and aesthetics. I have always had a mind of my own, hence I have always done things my way and I honestly love it because it shows the world your true-self.
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
This definitely has to be the moment when I took the decision of moving to Los Angeles for my own betterment, not just as a musician but also as a human being. I have never ever worked hard the way I have done staying here in LA. Los Angeles is a city which pushes you to your limits, its because of the surroundings. I also realized that once you start staying alone, you don’t have an option but to be responsible and take care of your whole life. I can proudly say that I am completely independent now and I am working towards getting better every single day.
What do you think an artist should sing about nowadays? I have always felt the need to focus on authenticity. I personally feel that all the artists should be authentic to their art. Being real helps in the long run and helps you gain real fans so I feel all the artists should sing and write about their beliefs and who they really are as a person.
Do you have any regrets?
Absolutely not! I believe wherever we are in our lives is the result of our own actions so there is no need to dwell in the past and have regrets about something that you can’t change. Thinking about the past and regretting something will only hinder your growth, it will also result in anxiousness and stress. What we can do is learn from
our mistakes and try not to make the same mistakes again and become a better person each and every day.
What is some piece of advice you would give to yourself right now? Over the past 3-4 months, my music has done really well and I have been getting all the traction I have always dreamt of. I have been really overwhelmed with the response, I mean this in a good way. The one piece of advice that I want to give to myself at this point of time is for me to stay humble and grounded, no matter how much success I get. This is one thing that we all should always be aware of. Success and wealth is something that can change you as a person, you always have to be aware of where you come from and not let all of this get to your head.
