Shubh Saran

Shubh Saran is a New York-based guitarist and composer who has performed extensively as a solo artist and sideman in the United States, India, Canada, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Mexico. Having grown up in six different countries, his career has been shaped by a mixture of influences. Saran’s intricate compositions fuse sounds from modern jazz, neo-soul, and rock with classical and contemporary Indian music. On February 10, 2020, Shubh Saran will release his latest EP titled Becoming​.

Becoming​ is the third release for Saran, who made his full length debut in 2017 with the release of ​Hmayra​, and followed up in 2018 with the release of ​H.A.D.D.​ On ​Becoming​, Saran explores past musical influences from a late 1990s and early 2000s punk rock era, while applying modern jazz techniques to the compositions. The five-song collection of original music was written and produced by Saran, and recorded with his seven-piece band over the course of a year between Studio G in Brooklyn and his home studio, also in Brooklyn.

For Saran, ​Becoming​ is very much a revisiting of the music that formulated his early years growing up, and a reflection on how that music might sound today when infused with his current styles of producing. “The general concept was to explore what it would be like if I made the kind of music that I used to listen to, except in the ways I make music now,” says Saran. “It’s kind of a modern jazz musician’s approach to playing punk rock.”

Taking a moment in time to explore the music of his past has had a resonating effect on Saran. Studying music in academic settings and applying the principles of modern jazz composition have been important for Saran in growing as an artist, but working to simplify song structure and focusing on the right amount of information to transmit to the listener has been an important challenge in this chapter of his career. When considering audiences during writing sessions, Saran has worked to keep in mind how much he wants to disclose musically, and how much he wants to be left imagined by the listener. “​Becoming​ points in the direction that I want to go in, or at least where I want to explore right now, jumping between genres while still retaining the elements that have always made up my music,” says Saran.

When rediscovering the music of his younger self, Saran found that there were many tastes that evolved over the years, but still some that remained true. “What was interesting about relistening to that music was noticing how much my musical tastes have changed over the years, while observing how similar some things still are,” says Saran. “Capturing the energy and the intensity of punk rock music, that seems on the surface loud and angry, I found, had this beautiful quality to it.”

Shubh Saran is a multi-dimensional artist whose vision of an ideal career is one that has an evolutionary musical arc to it. Continually innovating, finding new ways of uncovering melody and harmony, and channeling his true self, are all key components that make up Saran’s identity as a musician and producer. “I’ve always liked artists who have long music careers, where their first album is really different from their last album, and you can see the evolution and influences over time,” says Saran. “I think this EP is very much about embracing what I was influenced by and how that has shaped my songwriting, so I’m just celebrating that by being who I am as a musician.”