Episode 4.01: Desi Roots and the Music Industry, with Sameer Gadhia (Young The Giant)
“Most of the people I spent most of my time with were white men and obviously they’re great people, but there was a moment where I found myself losing my identity and losing understanding of where I’d come from...”
In this episode, Young the Giant's Sameer Gadhia visits The Desi Condition to talk about South Asian identity, the whitewashing of alternative rock, expressing politics in music, his creative process, and on trying to find “home” in America.
We start the episode by discussing his disposition as one of the very few South Asian musicians in the alternative rock scene. Sameer reflects on how his background and history as an immigrant has shaped his journey in music and influences his work. He talks about growing up as an "ABCD," without a playbook to navigate the music industry in the mid 2000’s, and on finding his place among artists in the alternative rock genre given the anonymity inherent to it. Using his experiences, he learned to humanize the rhetoric in his music to reach all kinds of people with different points of view.
Sameer also discusses his show on Pandora, Point of Origin, (presented by SiriusXM’s ALT Nation & Pandora) in which he aims to spotlight Alternative and Indie Rock musicians of color past, present, and future. He continues to, as always, implore listeners to acknowledge the roots of rock music in people of color. Listen to hear more of his thoughts on the future and possibilities of emerging South Asian culture, social media and “making it” in the industry, and advice for up and coming artists of color.