If music be the food of love - In conversation with Nitin Sawhney

Nitin Sawhney is a British musician, producer, and composer, known for his work across multiple mediums, including film, theatre, and music. A recipient of the Ivor Novello Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, Sawhney continues to explore themes of identity and the human experience. He recently composed the music for A Tupperware of Ashes, a play starring Meera Syal that delves into Alzheimer's and its effects on identity. We had the opportunity to sit down with him to discuss his work on the play, his broader career, and his thoughts on life and creativity.

Q: Your latest album, Identity, deals with how identity is manipulated in today's world. Can you talk about what inspired you to explore this theme?

Nitin Sawhney: I guess I’ve always liked making albums that engage with issues I feel passionately about, whether it’s the rhetoric around immigration or how people dehumanize others based on identity. It felt like a natural progression, considering the films I write music for and other work I do. I also wanted to make a collaborative album because sometimes albums can feel very narcissistic, where it’s all about the artist. But Identity was more about giving people a platform to express themselves, free from judgment.

Q: A Tupperware of Ashes continues this exploration of identity. You’ve worked in many different mediums—producing albums, scoring films, and even adverts. Does your approach differ between them?

Nitin Sawhney: To some degree, but I’m always looking for the narrative structure in everything. For A Tupperware of Ashes, I saw the first preview last night, and it blew me away. It’s an incredible play. I’ve worked in theatre for years, but making a woman with Alzheimer’s the focal point is something I hadn’t seen before. The idea of a celebrated actress like Meera Syal playing that role is amazing. When I first read the script, it nearly made me cry—it’s such a moving story about identity loss. I’ve read a lot of books as a book prize judge this year, and identity kept coming up. The erasure of identity due to Alzheimer’s is particularly heartbreaking.

Q: An experience like having a heart attack earlier this year must have made you reckon with reality in a new way. Did you see yourself in Queenie’s character?

Nitin Sawhney: That’s an interesting question. I think, yeah, definitely. She has anger from experiences like racism, which is evident in the play, and she’s dealing with multiple identity issues—being from India and reconciling that with her life here. It’s a journey I relate to. I’ve been in therapy for ten years, so I work through a lot of these issues, and I think social media and media, in general, have silenced people from speaking out about things like bigotry and racism. What I liked about Queenie’s Alzheimer’s is that it gives her permission to express herself freely, even angrily, at times. It’s very powerful, and I empathize with her deeply.

Q: The play is emotionally complex. How did you approach composing the score to enhance and encompass these themes?

Nitin Sawhney: I wanted the score to reflect her experiences, so I brought in Bengali influences and worked with a singer who sings in both Bengali and English. I also referenced music from Rabindranath Tagore, one of the most famous figures from the Bengali renaissance, whose work is used in the play. Additionally, I used Indian classical instruments like the bansuri to explore Queenie’s internal psychology and her gradual fading away. The challenge was to find a musical vocabulary that could express her journey both historically and internally.

Q: How do you incorporate Indian classical music into your scores while ensuring it resonates with a Western audience?

Nitin Sawhney: I think people are very open to music from other cultures now. With A Tupperware of Ashes, because of the nature of the story, I didn’t feel concerned about using Indian instruments like the tabla, bansuri, or sitar. It’s part of Queenie’s world, and the script gives me permission to do that. My focus was on reflecting her character as authentically as possible, without worrying about how people would react.

Q: You’ve scored so many projects. How do you balance maintaining your own musical identity with adapting to different projects?

Nitin Sawhney: I’m always me, but I think each project has its own language. I’ve done about 80 film scores now, and each time I work with a director, it’s about their vision, not about me imposing my identity. My job is to build an emotional and musical architecture that complements the story. For instance, I worked with Andy Serkis on Mowgli, and he responded emotionally to the music I created for the character, saying, “That’s Mowgli.” That’s the goal—to find the emotional heart of the project, and let the music reflect that.

Q: With A Tupperware of Ashes, the line between reality and illusion seems blurred. How did that influence your composition?

Nitin Sawhney: That ambiguity was exciting for me. The music had to reflect the fact that we’re often unsure where it’s coming from—whether it’s a memory, something Queenie is hearing in her head, or part of the background. This blurring of reality and illusion mirrors the play’s themes, and it’s something I’ve always been interested in. The play asks questions about existence, identity, and what remains of us when memory fades, which I found fascinating to explore musically.

Q: You mentioned earlier that you had a heart attack this year. Has that experience influenced your work?

Nitin Sawhney: Definitely. It made me think about what really matters and what we leave behind. I don’t fear death, but I do wonder about the next 20 or 30 years. A Tupperware of Ashes brought up similar questions about identity and existence, and I think my recent experience made me more attuned to the emotional core of the play.

Q: Before we wrap up, can you shed some light on your upcoming autobiographical project?

Nitin Sawhney: I’m working on a few things. I’m writing for the Halle Orchestra in December, composing a piece about my heart attack. I’m also writing a book that looks at the history and nature of music, woven with personal anecdotes from my life—travelling the world, meeting incredible people like Nelson Mandela and Paul McCartney. It’s been an insane journey, and I want to share those stories while reflecting on the meaning of music.

Don't miss out on A Tupperware of Ashes: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/a-tupperware-of-ashes/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwpbi4BhByEiwAMC8JnV7eQT5YTHjSgryS3xq9aTBAQI_0IUwopU4Fhqih5NvvFQNH2FCTcRoCRqQQAvD_BwE

Questions by Maryam Tuggar and Arenma Ahonsi, Interview by Arenma Ahonsi

Edited for clarity.