The Karmic Connexions’ latest original calls for greater care of nature and its biodiversity, while urging people to work towards a more peaceful world
CHRISTINE MACHADO
As concrete takes the place of trees and development changes the landscape, Raj Fernandes D’Pietro believes there is a need to pause and consider what is being lost. “We must stop building our imaginations on the corpses of the trees. The one who stays with nature knows what peace is,” he says.
These concerns about nature and his belief in peace have found expression in ‘Om Shanti’, a recent single released with his band, The Karmic Connexions (The K-Connexions).
The song began to take shape in 2014, when D’Pietro was organising the sixth season of his rock show, ‘Flame of Rock’, in Belgaum. “I thought of opening the show with my original and also passing on a message of peace,” he shares.
The track was recorded around three years ago at Di Peitro Studios, but D’Pietro and his band released it only recently along with a music video.
“The concept for the music video was actually very simple, with kids running for peace with a white flag and then dropping it in a green setting to show that this is where real peace lies,” says D’Pietro.
For this, getting the children together at different locations was not easy, he says, though friends helped make it possible.
But when they reached the spot where they wanted to shoot the video, in Anjuna, it was a mess. “There were plastic bottles and chips packets that were spoiling the scene. We had to clear all of this,” he says. In another scene, a mobile tower visible in the distance also had to be worked around.
Interestingly, just like the song, the band’s name, The Karmic Connexions, also comes from the idea of interconnectedness. “Karma means deeds. The name is a reminder that all that we do and what we get back is all connected,” says D’Pietro.
D’Pietro sings and plays acoustic guitar on the track, with Wellesley Fernandes on lead guitar, Alex D’Souza on drums, Stalin D’Sa on bass guitar, and Nigel Fernandes and Cavin D’Souza on keyboards. Sammuel Fernandes has since replaced Alex in the band, which now also has a female vocalist, Jenesia Rodrigues.
The band hopes to reach more listeners with its original music. D’Pietro, though, feels that listeners can be reluctant to move beyond the genres they are used to. “Many are not open to a different genre of music.”
The band is now looking ahead to its next releases, including the Konkani track ‘Ieo Mogo’ and the semi-rock original ‘Flames of Rock’.
