(May 5, 2024) Ludhiana boy Anuv Jain recently shared one of his latest pictures from New York, standing proudly in front of a billboard showcasing him. “NATURE (music album) is out now on all streaming platforms. I’m thrilled to contribute to the global campaign, ‘Sounds Right’, by United Nations Live! Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this movement. A significant portion of the royalties from this track will support environmental conservation charities,” shared the singer, songwriter and composer. His track Baarishein, featuring the sounds of Indian rains is part of the UN Live album.
The Museum for the United Nations — UN Live, based in Copenhagen, launched its global music initiative, ‘Sounds Right,’ on April 18 this year, just ahead of Earth Day (April 22). The initiative aims to highlight the importance of nature, raise funds for conservation efforts, and inspire millions of music lovers to take action. The ‘Sound Right’ album Nature features a diverse cast of global artists including Anuv Jain, David Bowie x Brian Eno, Ellie Goulding, AURORA, UMI with V of BTS, MØ, London Grammar, Bomba Estéreo, Cosmo Sheldrake, Louis VI, Tom Walker, Aterciopelados, Blinky Bill, Navicula x Endah N Rhesa, and Los Amigos Invisibles.
Available on major streaming platforms, the album has timeless compositions with ocean waves, wind, rainstorms, and birdsongs as prominent features of the background music.
Sounds Right
The website of the Museum for the United Nations-UN Live describes itself as an organization without borders that ignites global empathy, action, and transformation through the influence of popular culture and dialogue.
“By simply listening to music that features sounds of the natural world, fans will help to fund nature conservation and restoration projects in our most precious and precarious ecosystems,” stated a UN press release about the museum’s initiative.
The United Nations further highlighted that the ‘Sounds Right’ initiative “comes at a critical time when wildlife populations have declined by an average 69% in the past 50 years and at least 1.2 million plant and animal species are estimated to be at threat of extinction.” The initiative “looks to flip our extractive relationship with the natural world on its head while recognizing nature’s contribution to the creative industries.”
For the nature-loving musician Anuv, being selected for such a prestigious project was one of the most exciting opportunities of his career. All the artists chosen for the album were selected on the basis of how they have intertwined nature with their music throughout their musical journeys.
Inspired by nature
“A lot of my music is inspired by what’s around me; the sky, the rain, the trees,” Anuv remarked in an interview. Some of his “best work highlights nature as a metaphor to describe beauty.” The independent artist is popular for his acoustic melodies and compositions like Baarishein, Gul, and Alag Aasmaan among others. He expressed excitement about being part of an initiative that would help him to contribute to something that has given him so much – not just music but life itself.
Life around music
Anuv’s earliest memories of making music dates back to his 10th-grade year when he began playing the guitar and also started songwriting.
“I used to write these really emotional English songs. Eventually, my guitar teacher suggested that I should try writing in Hindi and that’s when I made that switch. I’m so glad I got that suggestion because I realized I was pretty good at it,” he shared adding “The lyrics come from all my personal experiences and the stories that I’ve seen unfold in front of me. I take inspiration from my experiences and turn them into a song.”
With time the artist polished his skills and ‘started becoming a better songwriter taking up more complicated themes and stories’. “I’ve been able to fit it into this economy of words, which is a song. I also feel like I’ve become better as a performing artist — I used to get really nervous initially, but now I am much more confident whenever I’m on stage and I enjoy it a lot more than I ever have before,” shared the singer-songwriter who has several single albums to his credit. He loves to perform at live shows to connect with people and has a large fan following on social media.