Nitin Sawhney interview - today's Metro

MY Nitin Sawhney interview from today's Metro. He's a fascinating chap who's just as comfortable talking about the Hadron Collider as ancient Hindu philosophy as Sarah Palin and Estelle. Days Of Fire is stunning - shame there's no video yet, and also check out YT's Wicked Act for another affecting tune on 7/7.


INTERVIEW

'The idea you can't mix music and politics has come to dominate,' says Nitin Sawhney, as we settle on the sofa in his plush west London studio to discuss his eighth album, London Undersound. 'You've got to be careful of being political because it's considered worthy and preachy.'

It's surprising to hear these words from an artist whose career has been defined by music with meaning. His 1999 Mercury-nominated album Beyond Skin touches on identity and nuclear weapons, Prophesy (2001) looks at technology, Human (2003) celebrates mankind's commonality, and Philtre (2005) offers a soothing balm for a troubled world.

'I saw what happened with Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. I produced his album, which could be described as political, and he got treated badly by the press. I thought maybe I should watch myself,' explains Sawhney. 'Eventually, I thought: "What am I doing? What about NWA's F*** Tha Police, Public Enemy, John Lennon, jazz in South Africa during apartheid? There's a strong history across the world, I've got to say what I feel."'

London Undersound is a tight (45 minutes), focused record that addresses 7/7, the Iraq war and the dumbing down of culture in trademark Sawhney style: namely, through swirling, finessed arrangements of flamenco guitar, piano, drum'n'bass, dub, folk and soul. Its thought-provoking songs emerged from jam sessions with Paul McCartney, reggae artist Natty, singer/songwriter Imogen Heap, and long-term collaborators Tina Grace and Reena Bhardwaj among others.

Despite exploring sensitive, weighty topics, London Undersound isn't Sawhney's soapbox, it's far more subtle. 'It's like the films I like, that aren't patronising but hold up issues and express cathartic ideas. It's catharsis more than anything, getting it all out without fear of how it's received,' he says.

The 44-year-old from Rochester, Kent, who now lives in south London, obviously enjoys collaborating, and is something of a cultural polymath. In the studio, he has previously teamed up with Beck, Brian Eno, Shakira, Will Young and AR Rahman. He has worked on projects with dancer Akram Khan, visual artist Antony Gormley, Cirque Du Soleil and the Royal Ballet Of China.

He co-created comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, has scored more than 40 films and writes music for video games - he's currently scoring a game with a script by Alex Garland and starring Andy Serkis. And Sawhney must be the only person to have both performed at the Proms and released a mix CD for underground club Fabric.

On his albums, Sawhney acts as a centrifugal force, pulling together vocalists, sounds and ideas.

'All the people I worked with on London Undersound had a good spirit in terms of where they were coming from. For instance, Paul McCartney came with such humility and an open vibe, which really comes through,' he explains. 'I asked him how he felt about being in the public eye and his response is on the album.

'I talked for ages with all the artists before we recorded a note to explore not just what I feel but what other people feel and to find a common meeting ground to explore. I'm happy that after all these collaborations, it feels like a "me" album,' he continues. 'I've made the album I wanted to make.'

Affecting opener Days Of Fire, featuring Natty, is an autobiographical account of 7/7 and throws up the question, how has London changed since then? 'Compared to 2000, London has a sour, bitter taste and feels different now. Jack Straw said the veil is a mask of separation, that it's automatically bad - we're supposed to be a country that sanctions and celebrates diversity,' says Sawhney.

'The government will play the diversity card when it comes to the Olympics and promoting the nation, when really what is going on are tests for Britishness that homogenise everyone and create a paranoid, parochial perspective.'

It's been three years since 7/7, Boris Johnson is London mayor, and it is four years before the capital hosts the Olympics. In some respects, it feels like the city, which is celebrated as the most diverse in the world, is at a crossroads.

'I can't believe Boris Johnson, a guy who called black people "picaninnies", is running London - the BNP said vote for him,' says Sawhney incredulously. 'I'm more interested in the cultural Olympiad than the Olympics because it's the spirit of collaboration versus the spirit of competition.'

'It's important to come up with ideas that reinforce respect between nations rather than saying: "We beat them." Is that all there is to say? It's a bit farcical - people from this land mass beat people from another land mass. Does that make you better? What does it actually say?'

London Undersound (Cooking Vinyl) is out today.

You can read it in its original glory here