Anubandham Productions’ First Single ‘Khamoshi’ Addresses Depression and Mental Health
The New Delhi production house is helmed by musicians Udit Saxena and Mohit Goyal
New Delhi's Anubandham Productions is helmed by musicians Mohit Goyal (L) and Udit Saxena. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
According to a recent study conducted by World Health Organization, approximately 8,00,000 people claim their own lives every year owing to mental health issues. If the past few years are anything to go by, the fatal impact of depression is nowhere more shockingly prominent than in the artist community across the world. Although the recent deaths of pop culture icons like Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell and Anthony Bourdain kicked off a global dialogue about mental health, it is still not considered a serious medical illness.
It’s the reason why New Delhi-based musicians Udit Saxena and Mohit Goyal, who are also the founders of the creative collective Anubandham Productions, decided to address depression on their debut single, “Khamoshi.”
Earlier this year, the duo carried out a survey on Instagram, asking their followers questions related to depression. They were surprised by the overwhelming response. “Around 70 percent of people said they suffered from depression at some point,” says Saxena, adding, “Every day, we can hear people committing suicide, be it a common man, a student, or a celebrity. [But] we couldn’t see a justified count of people coming up and talking about depression.”
“Khamoshi” opens with a delicate keyboard arrangement which slowly brings together synth parts, tablas and bass. The track is sung by Mumbai-based vocalist Surbhi Samdani, who lends it a restful, restorative quality.
Ahead of the making of the song and video, Saxena and Goyal spoke with a host of people that were either battling mental health problems or had faced them in the past. The idea was to try and put themselves in their shoes and how they experienced the world. “That helped us write something that could portray how and what it feels like,” says Saxena. The song was recorded mixed and mastered by Goyal at the Anubandham Productions studio.
The music video, which released last week, showcases a day in the life of a depressed person — from the challenge of getting out of bed, to emotional meltdowns and the persistent thoughts of suicide.
Watch below:
