Though he’s been performing as a pianist for three decades, Chad Lawson always loves exploring new territory. After playing classical music, jazz, pop, new age and contemporary instrumental music, he was delighted when he got a chance to collaborate with Indian musicians.
The result is the album Awakening: The Stillness Within, released by Vedam Records, the wellness music label of Universal Music India. The nine-track album blends emotive piano, Indian instruments, sacred mantras and healing frequencies to create what Lawson calls “a deeply immersive sonic sanctuary”.
As a follower of yoga and transcendental meditation, the American musician has been exposed to Indian music before. He clarifies, “The listening has always been casual. But here, I was playing with some really talented Indian artistes, and there were many new areas to explore.”
The album features appearances by flautist Rasika Shekhar, sitar player Purbayan Chatterjee, harp exponent Nush Lewis and sound healer Paayal Lal. Lawson says he was approached by Universal Music India’s chief Devraj Sanyal. He adds, “He and the label’s Faustin Missier showed a lot of enthusiasm and involvement throughout the project, as we recorded in Mumbai.”
The first single, Still Waters, features flautist Shekhar. Says Lawson, “Like all the other tracks, it came from a place of listening more than playing. Nothing was over-planned. It was all about showing up, responding in the moment, and letting the music find its own way.”
According to the pianist and composer, the main brief was to simply create. He adds, “That’s the best thing I liked about his project. There were no expectations or pressure. Nothing was prepared. Yet the musicians had such a wonderful understanding, and everything turned out so well.”
Interestingly, Lawson is known in another field besides music. He has an independent weekly podcast Calm It Down, which guides listeners through techniques for breathing and meditation while tackling mental health subjects like anxiety, mood swings and even suicidal tendencies. The idea came about after many fans told him how his music helped them through many dark and difficult times in his life. “I decided to combine my music, experiences and meditation techniques, but for that I had to do a lot of reading besides speaking to various people with different concerns and problems,” he says.
While the podcast was started in 2020, Lawson’s musical career took off much earlier in 1997 when he formed the Chad Lawson Trio. Though he didn’t come from a musical family, he had been attracted to the piano at the age of five when he saw the group Sha Na Na in a television series. He began training in classical music, played in a covers band in school, and later majored in jazz at the Berklee College of Music. “That was where I learnt improvisation, which helped me with my trio,” he says.
Lawson points out that among the key features of his music was his keenness to approach new styles. He elaborates, “I got to learn a lot when I joined Spanish singer Julio Iglesias’ touring band. Later, I decided to get back into classical music by doing my own spin on Chopin and Bach compositions. They became quite popular, but I’m not a classical expert. These were experiments, but I may not try them with other composers.”
The year 2020 marked another new milestone. Besides launching his podcast, Lawson released his first major label EP Stay with Decca Records. The music was written in honour of the Mental Health Awareness Month in the US. The following year, he released his full-length album You Finally Knew with Decca, and followed it up with the double album Breathe, to coincide with the National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month in September 2023.
Today, he focuses equally on creating new music and running his podcast. Lawson points out that his podcast is followed mostly by people of the younger generation. He says he similarly wants to make the piano more accessible to the Spotify generation. Now that he has made an entry into Indian music, he plans to explore different styles even more. He doesn’t specify whether he plans any live shows with Indian musicians, and says he will look at that on his next visit. “I take things as they come, and I am very curious by nature. At 51, I am still learning the piano and there is a long way to go,” he concludes.
