Memories that were on standstill

In 2019 a posh Juhubased private space had been reserved for a fairytalelike unveiling of Farhan Akhtarrsquos debut album Echoes Punctuating the renditions of his over 10track album with rushes of his time spent in Milan while creating it Akhtar had evidently put together a setlist that was apt to take to the stage Then the world came to a standstillAlso ReadFarhan Akhtar drops stunning glimpse of daughter Shakya on her birthdayldquoWe had planned to go on tour with the album but then for two years the plans had to be put on hold amid the pandemic Live acts have only fully resumed this yearrdquo says the musicianactor who is ready to finally present his album in a live setting to his fans in the city in December ldquoThis is something that the band had wanted to do for a while and now people will hear the songs on the album as well as the new material that we have to present It was sad that we didnrsquot get the chance to play it at the time even though thatrsquos a tiny problem when pitted against what the world encounteredrdquoIt was producer Tommaso Collivarsquos approach to his ideas that sealed the deal for Akhtar when it came to arriving at his collaborator Instead of being bothered by the technicalities Collivarsquos interest in the emotional space that Akhtar was in appealed to the actorEchoes was a musical scrapbook of sorts of Akhtarrsquos memories If Seagulls was an ode to a ldquodear friend who moved away from Mumbairdquo and the subsequent grief that he encountered Why couldnrsquot it be me was inspired by the 2014 Peshawar school massacre Akhtar admits that his intention behind creating the album was to ldquoshare something with the worldrdquo ldquoSongs and music have the ability to appeal to you no matter what the mood is Even if you are nursing a wound it will make you realise that you are not alone and someone has experienced those same emotions before That experience strengthened merdquoAlso Read Have you heard Akshay Manushi pair up againAsk him if he was swayed to revisit the tracks in the three years that ensued and he says he is set to present a few of them differently for the upcoming concerts ldquoItrsquos tough for a musician to judge the work that they have already put out We are retaining the arrangements of many tracks and will be revisiting others Wersquoll add different instruments and will reproduce themrdquoAkhtar who claimed to find comfort in the English language when it came to emoting via music is set to present a bunch of new work in this upcoming leg ldquoTake me home is a song based on my life in the media glare and the facade that one is forced to create It questions the wall of defence that one must build when being in the spotlight Another song is called Reach for the stars which is about pulling yourself through difficult timesrdquoWhile the December concert kicks off in Mumbai he intends to travel across different cities in due course of time