Bhi Bhiman proves that a songwriter (a good one, anyway) wields a mastery of poetic language and wordplay in the same way classically trained musicians play their instruments.
Bhiman, born and raised in St. Louis by Sri Lankan parents, was influenced as an early teenager by Nirvana and the rest of the grunge scene before making his way towards folk tunes. Regardless of the differences between grunge and folk, Bhiman acknowledges that his approach to songwriting is rooted in the music he listened to as a teenager.
“Nirvana is probably the biggest thing in that making [music] sort of poppy in a way that people can understand, making sure no one is left behind,” Bhiman said. “Keeping it simple, which is something Nirvana did to a T, that’s something I try to keep in mind.”
Bhiman’s presence onstage follows the simplistic approach too. An acoustic guitar hanging from his shoulder is all Bhiman needs before his opening song “Kimchee Line” captivates the sweaty Bonnaroo audience. Unfortunately for Bhiman (and any other songwriters who use this approach) escaping the comparisons to Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie is nearly impossible. When asked about it, Bhiman just shrugged and shook his head.
“It feels like nothing because it can’t be true. I’m not that good. Yeah, it’s cool [to get the comparison] but I don’t find it completely true at all. I mean, those are all idols [and] people I copy from in certain ways.”
After listening to Bhiman sing and play just one song from his great set at Bonnaroo, the young songwriter divorces himself from the almost-limiting comparisons parallels to his idols. Bhiman’s sweet and polished voice is the perfect device to deliver his thought provoking and layered lyrics.
“For songwriting,” Bhiman explained, “when it takes little effort then you know something good is happening. That’s why I like those fifteen minute songs. The songs that are fully formed in fifteen minutes are some of the best ones because they are supposed to be the way the way they are.”
Bhi Bhiman is one of the few songsmiths today that gets it right. It is songwriting as songwriting should be: a craft. His critically-acclaimed sophomore album Bhiman was released this year on BooCoo Music Records and can be found on iTunes and Amazon.
Bhiman will be opening for Josh Ritter and Brandi Carlile at the Chastain Amphitheater on July 27 in Atlanta.
Tickets can be purchased at:
http://www.classicchastain.com/brandi-carlile-w-josh-ritter-the-royal-city-band-and-bhi-bhiman/