EPK – Songs of Petrichor – Nomad (single) (2021)
Publicist – Jon Asher – asher[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
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Single: Nomad
Release: March 24, 2021
Record Label: Wall of Sound Records
“Nomad is a song that is open to interpretation as either a narrative of a literal ‘nomad’ or as a metaphor of one whose journey is akin to that of a nomad. The song holds themes of not belonging to a single location, perseverance, moving on, pain, loss, vengeance, and yet finds space for hope. The narrator, who might be the ‘nomad’, symbolizes ‘hope’ as “a rare flower on a cactus” and finally enlightens with advice to the audience/listener, “If birds can fly so can you”. The band has self-labeled the Song’s genre as a mixture of Oriental Grunge and Progressive Rock. The mesmerizing verse with its narrative and elements of mixed sub-genres, defines the song’s character, followed by an uplifting chorus that gratifies the much-needed revival of Rock aggression and attitude with an Oriental twist.” – Songs of Petrichor
BAND STORY ANGLES / FUN FACTS
1. The band likes to joke about how Songs of Petrichor was actually started in the corporate world. I (Omair) had a review meeting with the COO of the Company after the successful completion of a project. As the discussion turned surprisingly informal towards the end, I was asked “So what do you do outside of work?”. Upon finding out that I am a musician, I was told “Take this number and call this young man who is very dear to me”. I got a business card on my Whatsapp named “Sheru Jeddah”. Later on, I found out we both were asked to contact each other which we did. We had an awkward phone call where Shaharyar told me he loves the Beatles and we had a common friend from back home who had passed away recently. Hesitantly, we decided to meet up at a mutual friend’s place as a formality which I was personally dreading as it was just for the sake of meeting up. Turned out I finally met a musician with whom I share a broad range of similar musical taste. Oddly, we were both listening to Ravi Shankar while driving to the same location to meetup. For one we were both die-hard Zeppelin fans. Later, we created Songs of Petrichor.
2. Shaharyar and Omair started the music much earlier on around July 2019 and named the band ‘Petrichor’. The missing element was Yousuf, who joined the band around October 2019. He was the final jigsaw piece. We changed the band name to ‘Petrichoir’ as ‘Petrichor’ was taken by a strange DJ and also because Shaharyar was in a choir. Later on, just before the Pandemic, we changed to ‘Songs of Petrichor’. We were forced to stop jamming and writing from February 2020 to late August 2020 due to COVID19.
3. All the members are multi-instrumentalists. There are songs where Yousuf has influenced the drum ideas and Omair has written the guitar and vocal melodies. Especially while free jamming, the band members keep switching between instruments for fun. Consequently, even during songwriting, there is a lot of cross-influence as all members seem to have perspectives on each instrument.
L-R – Shaharyar Hamdani (Vocals, Guitar), Omair Soomro (Drums, Lyrics), Yousuf Masood (Guitar, Bass)
Saudi Arabia’s progressive grunge rock trio Songs of Petrichor are releasing their debut single “Nomad” in preview to their self-titled album coming November 2021 via Sound of Wall Records.
A nostalgic, melancholic revival of influenced 70’s prog, 90’s grunge, and South Asian classical music, Songs of Petrichor has fused a refreshing sound from the Middle East. With all members of the band being multi-instrumentalists, the crafting of songs has always taken an interesting approach with each of them having mutual respect for each other’s instrumentation.
Admitting that they are first and foremost a live experience, Songs of Petrichor’s true chemistry comes to life when adding improvisation to their stage performance, but in the meantime, with lockdowns around the globe, they feel it is necessary to allow the public to enjoy this chapter of their sonic adventure until then.
Songs of Petrichor‘s goal with “Nomad” and the forthcoming record is to take listeners on a journey of rain-induced sentiment, strong emotions, and adoration for the classic yet modern love of rock. On “Nomad”, fans will hear SOP find their own voice while still demonstrating a unique and relatable sound.
“‘Nomad’ was inspired by our drummer Omair’s thoughts of not belonging anywhere and constantly moving on. The song is open to interpretation as either a narrative of a literal ‘nomad’ or as a metaphor of one whose journey is akin to that of a nomad. The song holds themes of not belonging to a single location, perseverance, moving on, pain, loss, vengeance and yet finds space for hope. It is an Oriental Grunge song with elements of Progressive Rock.” adds the band.
To listen to “Nomad“, please visit the following links:
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Go2rZnSilhA
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Qp0H9V
Bandcamp: Wallofsoundsa.bandcamp.com
