In the current dire situation, we all sit at home wondering what’s next, with a glimmer of hope in our hearts that the circumstances around us will improve. Meanwhile, to make things better, Mumbai pop-rock band Nine Lives has given us a sense of reassurance with their latest single ‘Believe.’
The band, comprising of vocalist Clive D’Souza, keyboardist Agnelo Fernandes, guitarist Roland Fernandes, bassist Govind Gawli and drummer Royston Mathias, is known for writing songs with distinctive messages. With ‘Believe’, the group reminds us not to lose hope in humanity and to strive for love.
Nine Lives have also roped in musicians, such as sibling pop duo Simetri (Riya and Simran Duggal), singer-songwriters Vernon Noronha and Bryan Ernest, vocalist Muriel D’Souza, wind instrumentalist Omkar Dhumal and tabla player Omkar Salunke to lend their talents to the song.
The track features lush acoustic guitar plucking, a splendid flute section, underlying tabla parts that blend in with Mathias’ groove as well as sublime harmonies from all the vocalists. Towards the end of the song, we hear a wall of sound from all the musicians creating a choir-like feel while they all sing in unison, “I believe in love.” What all the artists on the track enrapture with, are the compelling lyrics, creating a melody that resonates with the need of the hour.
The accompanying music video of the song, which has been edited by Eleesha D’Souza, showcases newspaper clippings of tragic world events, including oil spills, plastic in the ocean, war, religious disputes, terrorism, protests and more. The clip is interspersed with footage of the musicians singing and performing the song in the form of a cut out in black and white as well as of catastrophic incidents of violence, with political commentary running through.
Both the track and the video have both been recorded by each artist at their homes, due to the current coronavirus pandemic. The song has been mixed and mastered by Abhishek Khandelwal at YRF Studios in Mumbai.
Even though we are living through a strange period, what Nine Lives and company have been able to tell us through ‘Believe’ is that there is always hope at the end of the tunnel. As long as we continue to spread love and communal harmony, we can overcome anything, even a pandemic.
