Watch Uddipan Break Into A Jig in Carefree ‘Jhoom Le’ Video

While he’s often exhibiting an intense side to himself with his band aswekeepsearching, guitarist-vocalist and producer Uddipan Sarmah has been markedly different with his solo project. People may expect a familiar ambient-informed sound from Sarmah – and we’ve heard that with singles like “Puhor” – but his latest song “Jhoom Le” is a total pop turn, complete with earworm-potential vocal hooks and all.

Created in 2020 as a way to dispel the stress that the pandemic invited, Sarmah was also inspired by the wisdom imparted in psychologist Dr. Edith Eger’s bestseller The Choice: Embrace the Possible. “It was one of the first books I started reading, in 2020 to be honest. The year changed my ways to consume art – books, film and art and also music,” he says. It shook him out of moroseness and turned him in the total opposite direction – he wanted to make joyous music that can get people moving. Uddipan describes the vibe, “You’ve just woken up to see the sky – you’re alive and that’s beautiful. I imagine an old daadu [uncle] singing it to me.”

Appropriately enough, we see an elderly gentleman and a middle-aged woman get all decked up in the music video for “Jhoom Le,” directed by Chitrangada Satarupa and shot by Rusha Bose. It’s a Zoom party and Uddipan first appears stern-faced at finding the two dancing, but joins in soon enough. “I’m projecting a different vibe of me. There was a doubt and it’s still there but I’m coming to terms with it,” he adds about releasing the track and music video.

Complete with “la la la” and “zu zu zu” intonations, “Jhoom Le” sees Sarmah dive right into radio-friendly pop territory, aided by producer Arsh Sharma. Helming electronic-rock act FuzzCulture and previously from experimental rock band The Circus, the artist says he connected with Sharma as a person first and that was important. “Arsh being the producer, he broke the song down and said this [“La la la/ Zu zu zu”] should be the chorus […]  He said, ‘Why not do full pop?’ Everything I’m doing with my solo project makes me imagine things completely different. I’m making all efforts to accept it and try it. I strongly believe I’ll never know if I never release these songs.”

The duo have worked on four songs together and another collaborator for Sarmah’s solo material is producer Sarvagya Sharma aka Resonare, a friend from Ahmedabad. “I have a couple of other songs where it’s only me with my guitar and voice. I wish to release it as an EP in the monsoon. It’s not too production-heavy and I’m enjoying reading fiction at the moment. I want to write from that aspect in my lyrics,” Sarmah says.

Watch the video for “Jhoom Le” below. Stream on more platforms here. Join Uddipan on Discord.