Stereoboard Talk To American Born Sri Lankan Artist Bhi Bhiman About New Album 'Bhiman' (Interview)
Monday, 11 February 2013
Written by Jaspreet Kaur Takhi
This month marks American born Sri Lankan artist Bhi Bhiman’s third “professional” visit to the UK in as many years. He has visited numerous times before to visit family but more recently has been performing in intimate venues in cities such as Bristol and Dublin, as well as the more high profile Royal Festival Hall and Roundhouse in London. Bhiman has been dazzling fans and critics alike with his unique brand of folk bluesy rock with a voice that stops you in your tracks and grabs your attention immediately. I caught up with him prior to his first gig in Manchester promoting his second studio album, 'Bhiman'.
Upon arriving in Manchester, Bhi calls me and starts by telling me about himself; he was born in St Louis, Missouri – a major port on the famous Mississippi river which has a diverse musical tradition of blues, jazz and ragtime. He describes the area he grew up in as a very “Huckleberry Finn style landscape” and very much imbibed the rich musical and cultural heritage around him. He first felt compelled to grab a guitar at the tender age of six and Bhiman eventually received formal instruction for the electric guitar in his teens where he fell in love with hard rock bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
At this point, I feel obliged to point out (with much pride) that both Robert Plant and Ozzy Osborne are both from my home county – I couldn’t help myself and he’s impressed that two rock legends would hail from close to one another. Back to Bhi – it was when he was at University in San Francisco did he form a band and develop his own acoustic Rock and Roll style, which confirmed his intentions to pursue a career in the industry. For me, one of Bhiman’s charms is that although he has South Asian heritage, his music is generally free of any influences to indicate this, which in the past has been the USP for many other artists in the diaspora. This is a very much an American record by a non-quintessential American artist.
According to Bhi, one of his most notable achievements, along with opening for prolific artists such as Rodriguez and Lucinda Williams, was appearing on Later…with Jools Holland, a cornerstone of music television and a platform that most artists get when they have very much cracked the mainstream market. The catalyst that sparked the appearance on the show was when producers heard Bhi’s sing and in particular, the song Guttersnipe, which is the jewel in the crown on the new album. The song has been described as “a sprawling, nearly seven-minute epic folk testimonial with a deep empathy for the downtrodden” and I would whole heartedly agree. Bhiman explains to me that the song, which is about a down and out character who is moving from hard times and “on his way to feeling fine,” isn’t necessarily autobiographical, but reflects the time he moved from Missouri to California, touching on feelings of uncertainty and not knowing where life is going, and trying to convince yourself that you are going to be fine, whether you actually believe it or not! The simplistic guitar is juxtaposed beautifully with Bhiman’s deep baritone voice which makes me feel that it is a very special song to him.
When asked about his family and friends reaction to his music, he says they are very supportive although surprised he doesn’t have a mainstream sound like Beyonce (just to clarify, Bhi thinks Beyonce is great) but he goes on to say poignantly “I would rather have a hundred fans who love me than a thousand fans that think I am ok”. That says it all really! Bhi is firmly in it for the music and is a seriously talented musician who is definitely one to watch out for!
'Bhiman' is out now on Tummy Touch records.
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Upon arriving in Manchester, Bhi calls me and starts by telling me about himself; he was born in St Louis, Missouri – a major port on the famous Mississippi river which has a diverse musical tradition of blues, jazz and ragtime. He describes the area he grew up in as a very “Huckleberry Finn style landscape” and very much imbibed the rich musical and cultural heritage around him. He first felt compelled to grab a guitar at the tender age of six and Bhiman eventually received formal instruction for the electric guitar in his teens where he fell in love with hard rock bands such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. 
