Assamese musician’s song touches No 1 spot on iTunes US pop charts

The singer-songwriter and producer also made waves on the world indie charts, where the song climbed to the 13th spot on the music streaming app.

“The song ‘Hold Me Tonight’ explores the experience of anxiety and how it often distances a person from loved ones, deepening the sense of misery. It’s about recognising this pattern and making a change to improve life and relationships,” Baba, who hails from Assam, told PTI.

With deeply reflective lyrics that explore “personal demons” and the “pursuit of change”, the song, which soared to the top on iTunes on August 15, is more than just a catchy tune, he said, adding it is a “raw, emotional experience”.

He has directed the music video for the single himself. Produced independently, the video features artistic projections symbolising hope emerging from rock bottom.

Baba, whose real name is Abhiruk Patowary, developed a passion for music early on and began playing various instruments and experimenting with different musical styles, eventually forming a signature sound blending multiple genres.

Few years into piano and he expanded his skillset by picking up the drums at the age of 12 and guitars at 14 years.

Asked the reason why he chose the name Baba, he says, “My mother calls me Baba and my inner monologue also calls myself that hence the name seemed fit for this journey.”

Baba’s mother is noted litterateur Rita Chowdhury, who was former director of National Book Trust, and his father Chandra Mohan Patowary is a minister in the Assam cabinet.

Over the years, Baba has released several albums and singles under various artiste names that have gained immense popularity among fans and critics alike.At the age of 17, he released his first album “Aerial” under the artiste name Gaia.

“It wasn’t a commercial hit but I did the best I could,” he says.

Recently, Baba embarked on a unique 30-day song challenge whereby he wrote, recorded, produced, mixed and mastered a new song each day for a month.

His effort was lauded by the UK edition of the Rolling Stone magazine which said the challenge was “more than just a personal test” and was a “groundbreaking format that could inspire other artistes and producers to think outside the box”.

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