Taba Chake Treks Through Dark Valleys in Somber ‘Halfway’ Video

After giving the world a few upbeat, emotional songs about love, singer-songwriter Taba Chake turns to the universal struggles against guilt and fights for survival on his latest release “Halfway.” The single comes with a soul-searching music video set in the town of Anini in Chake’s native Arunachal Pradesh, directed by filmmaker/photographer Mohit Kapil and shot by cinematographer Khanseng Mein.

Chake’s caressing vocals turn concerned on “Halfway,” with lyrics like, “I had the time to be me, I wished you watched over me/Time has passed, I don’t know what I’m gonna be.” The artist makes an earnest plea for freedom, ultimately wanting to live in the moment. “Yesterday is gone now/Embrace the moments that we have,” he sings in relief towards the end of the song.

Produced and mixed by Chake’s go-to collaborator in New Delhi, Ritwik De, “Halfway” also features additional vocals from Smiti Malik and Subhadra Kamath, drumming by Aveleon Giles Vaz and is mastered by U.K.-based sound engineer Gethin John. It builds from a measured quietness to a driving bassline, while Chake’s distinct vocals go from pensive to relieved.

Chake says about the song in a description with the video, “‘Halfway’ is a song that reflects the journey of a person who has unfinished dreams and expectations that he can only feel lost about. The conflict of being caught between the present and the past Which he simply accepts and goes on.”

The new song is the singer-songwriter’s third single of the year, following the Assamese song “Monot Pore” and the Hindi song “Udd Chala.” Multilingual experiments in releases included, “Halfway” is Chake’s first English release since the 2020 single “Blush,” which came right after his breakout 2019 album Bombay Dreams.

Watch the video for “Halfway” below. Stream the song here.