Meet Somesh Das | Pianist, Music Producer, Composer, Audio Engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Somesh Das and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Somesh, why did you pursue a creative career?
Pursuing a career as a musician was felt more like a calling than a choice. I considered working a more concrete profession growing up, however the power of music and its magnetic pull on me was far too strong to escape. I think it really comes down to the ability for music to connect people of all walks of life, regardless of language, color or age. Music is something that transcends consciousness and taps into the divine. There is a reason why most people on this planet now, and have historically gotten immense amounts of joy and catharsis from music regardless of their position in life and any prosperous or troubling circumstances. Whether it be for dance and celebration, or to elicit empathy and interconnectedness through profound emotional depths that can’t be put into words, music has always been a powerful source of inspiration and connectedness for human kind. I guess it is for those reasons, I wanted to spend my life working in music, participating in that exchange, and graciously learning from the journey whatever fruits of wisdom it may bare along the way.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a pianist/keys player, music producer, mixing engineer, and composer. My ultimate career and life goals involve producing long term projects like full albums with artists, developing their sound, and then going on tours as the keys player/MD (musical director) with those artists. In the long term, I would also like to dive more into music for film.

As a contemporary pianist, I am trained in jazz and contemporary music styles, as well as classical, and am the touring keys player for new Rostrum Records artist: Dryboy. I am heavily influenced by Bill Evans, Hiromi, Robert Glasper, Frans Liszt, Claude Debussy. My knowledge of piano and harmony in the jazz and classical traditions also helped me land the job of transcribing the ‘Typical Of Me’ EP into the official songbook and sheet music for 2024 Grammy winning, jazz/classical/pop musician: Laufey!

As a music producer, I feel most comfortable working on singer-songwriter music. Artists like Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Ben Howard and John Mayer have shaped me significantly. In addition to this, I love certain aspects of Hip-Hop, R&B and Soul Music such as Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Dr Dre and his crew, Bruno Mars, Anderson Paak, D’Angelo & Hiatus Kaiyote.

In regards to my career in scoring for media, I was blessed to have been called up by Actor/Director: Daniel Augustin (HBO’s Rap Shit, Hulu’s How I Met Your Father), to score and produce music for his short series ‘Kinfolk’ at the end of 2023. The show aired at the end of 2023 on the ToughLoveSeries Youtube Channel which has 275,000 subscribers and counting, and the episodes have amassed over 100,000 views since it aired. The show’s pilot was also aired at the esteemed Tribeca Film Festival, and has been nominated in 7 categories in the 14th Annual Indie Series Awards show in LA for 2024. It was great being able to use a blend of my film scoring studies background with modern hip-hop and R&B production elements to whip up something truly unique for this brilliant, comedy series.

My speciality involves blending elements of the great music of the past, such as the Romantic and Impressionist eras, to the golden era of film and 20th century music, Jazz, the great bands of the past such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Bee Gees, Queen, and the level of musicality, live instrumentation, skill and taste required, to modern music and younger artists and listeners. I have been told frequently that there is something almost cinematic or soundtrack like about most of productions, regardless of whether they are Hip-Hop, Indie/Alt Rock, or Pop.

I think what sets me apart from others is how deeply I’ve studied and developed my craft as a live musician and pianist with a range of eras and genres, and incorporated that into my biggest natural strength which is composition, arrangement and production for popular music and culture today. I’ve also studied and worked in mixing and recording engineering in depth. Therefore, just about every angle of original music, whether it be the songwriting, production, recording, post production, or live performance aspect is familiar to me, and a part of my thinking, feeling and decision making when working with other creatives in the music industry and the creation process.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of the hidden gems for musicians and music lovers alike in LA is the venue/record studio: Golddiggers in Hollywood. They have a great jam session late on a Monday night that features incredible musicians playing a set week in and week out, and then opening up the stage to an improvisatory jam in the styles of Jazz, Hip-Hop, Soul and Fusion. Every time I have visited on a Monday, I have been thoroughly entertained and impressed. It is also only a 10$ cover charge, so very affordable!

For hiking or nature enthusiasts, there are many great trails in the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena & Topanga areas – these really help escape the hectic-ness of LA for some active restoration.

I am still relatively new to LA, so I am sure as I spend more time in this city I will get to discover more hidden gems!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give the biggest shoutout to my parents for supporting me through this journey, and putting me through my dream music school: Berklee College of Music and helping me with my move to the USA and then LA. Without their sacrifice, hard work and care I would not be here living out my wildest dreams.

Website: https://www.bluelotusrecords.com/

Instagram: @someshdasmusic

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/somesh-das-50bb75173/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100067602730927

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SomeshDasMusic