Truly
Madly Deeply Darren
DEEPA
RAO
TIMES
NEWS NETWORK
September 24,
2004
His is
a story that merits a Hollywood film. A
tough
childhood in Australia, a chance
recording in the
spare room of a
producer's home in Sydney and
then
kaboom, a meteoric rise to fame. We
are
talking about the talented Mr
Darren Hayes.
After his
fantastic run as part of the Savage
Garden
duo, which sold 20 million albums
worldwide,
Darren, of the
incredibly mushy songs fame,
proves with his new solo offering, The Tension
and
The Spark, with its new age
electronica sounds,
that he's truly
come of age as a musician.
Darren
reflects on his journey so far, "I've
evolved
as an artist. I'm 32. I just
want to make music that
I am passionate
about from now on. There is way
too much
clutter in the universe without yet
another
pop star
filling the airwaves with a pale imitation
of
what they used to be or what the
perception
mainstream is
supposed to be." But then Darren
– who
loves Ravi Shankar's music and thinks
he's
one of the greatest musicians ever
– has always
been different.
He recently made waves when he
spoke out about
his difficult childhood.
"This
album is autobiographical, it's all about
my
life and the troubles I faced
growing up. I grew up
poor, hence I
wanted to be a performer to escape
my
life." Not your quintessential
narcissistic
performer,
Darren's always been afraid of fame. He
says
earnestly, "I think, to many people in the
West,
fame and popularity are seen as a
way to find
happiness or fulfilment. But the
spiritual significance
of what the job
requires from you is never talked
about. Most performers try to compensate
for
something they lack – self
love."
It's probably this
spiritual
streak that makes him an Indiaphile.
"I
am a huge fan of yoga and have
been practising for
five years. I
love India – my two visits have
made
a profound impact on
me."
Back
to music, will we see him revisiting
romantic
songs? Truly
Madly Deeply and I Knew I Loved You
still
hold the record as the No 1 and No 2
longest
running songs
to sit atop the Billboard Adult
Contemporary chart. He laughs,
"Maybe
someday..." Darren also believes
in periodically
brushing off
the stardust.
"After
I finished touring for my last show, I
just
didn't want to make a record. I
did a course in
screen writing,
got back to yoga, bought myself a
mountain bike and a puppy, and started living
my
life. And I started making a
record without realising
it."
-----
Darren also on MTV India
page [MTV India]
