Finally Found

Sami Rahman’s fierce pursuit has driven him from Kolkata to England, England to Texas, Texas to New York and New York to Los Angeles. “Have you found what you’re looking for?/My Brixton days are over,” he sings on ”˜London Time’ which he wrote in Brixton at age seventeen, when he knew what it was he wanted but was yet to find his bearings on foreign turf. Growing up listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a younger Rahman had an inkling of his passion in music but certainty only crept in when his brother passed on two definitive rock records to him ”“ U2’s War and The Beatles’ White Album. “I thought to myself, what if some kid from Calcutta could sing just as well. When I moved to Texas where my grandfather lives, he thought I was completely brainwashed by British music,” says the 27-year-old. Little did that discourage Rahman who even went as far as keeping his parents under the impression that he had gone to America to pursue higher studies, while he was actually seeking out opportunities in Brixton.

Moving out of Texas, he played drums for a band in New York later on shifting base with them to Los Angeles, which eventually became his playing field. Though his aspirations as a singer songwriter pushed him to start something of his own, Rahman started doing solo acoustic sets through LA, and got acquainted with the music community. This is where he found the other musicians that were to make for his own band, Once. Rahman’s band boasts of a noteworthy lineup in Pelle Hillstrom (Abandoned Pools, Modwheelmood) on lead guitar, Kelli Scott (Queens of the Stone Age, Failure) on drums, indie-solo artist Fox Fagan on bass, and LA sessions player Anthony Dean on rhythm guitar. After three years of sticking it out the band is all set to release its debut record Drop Chocolate Not Bombs this month via iTunes and physically available through Rahman’s indie label Royal Bengal Recordings.

The producer on the album, Marc Jameson, who has worked with the likes of Madonna, Bon Jovi and Christina Aguilera is perhaps Rahman’s greatest supporter. Jameson heard Rahman’s ”˜London Time’ and encouraged him to write more songs. Many songs on the album ”˜Someday,’ ”˜Radio Rock’ and ”˜Keep Your Soul’ were written at Jameson’s LA home. But it was playing often at the famous Viper Room in LA that seems to have garnered the attention of some iconic music engineers for Rahman. Paul Lani (worked with the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and David Bowie) has mixed ”˜Day Like This’ while Dave Hilis (worked with Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains) has mixed ”˜Change.’ Both were so taken in by Rahman’s performance at the Viper Room that they expressed interest in working on his album. And to top it off, Rahman has a supporter in music industry executive Alan McGee who has managed bands like Oasis and The Libertines in the past. McGee was also floored at a gig at the Viper Room and offered to sponsor the making of the video for ”˜A Day Like This.’ With such benefactors Rahman is only raring to go.

Very influenced by British acts like The Verve, Oasis and Doves, Rahman is the prime songwriter in the band. “My inspirations while writing come from people that I meet, stories that I hear, the books that I read”¦and most of all I guess my inspiration comes from my journey coming from a small town in India,” he says.

Rahman seeks to “open the door” for Indians in the western music industry. “I believe India’s going to be the next biggest market, and I think this is the right time to breakthrough. I believe in my record and I think people back home in India would acknowledge this voice from their own territory getting recognition in the west.” Though right now having moved back to New York, Rahman is still looking to clinch that major record deal.