Enough talking about music. Enough of simply discussing good and bad worship. It’s time to act. And in my case, this means it’s time to publish. Over the last few months, I’ve been making an active effort to record some of the songs I’ve been writing for over the last two decades, and publish them on YouTube. Mostly, I’ve been doing this to learn digital music production (which I’m doing out of a personal interest). But also, I think I’m doing this because I feel now is a good time to get some of the songs I have been working on out there… so that they could be potentially useful. But there is another reason why I’m starting to become more public with my music: I feel that as a teacher of Theology (I teach Theology at SAIACS, Bangalore), I need to also be doing theology. Music is one way where theology is visible. I’m hoping that, whether good or bad, my work will eventually be an example of how we Indian Christians can be more theological, aiming to speak (publish) in a language and form that makes sense outside academia.
Enough of talking about music. Enough of simply discussing good and bad worship. It’s the time to act.
So with that preamble… This post announces that while it’s not technically a launch, I’m being more intentional to upload my music on my YouTube channel credited to my initials NAyK (hence NAyK Music). (note: apart from music, I also have some classroom lectures and teaching tools). The link for NAyK Music is found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/nigelajaykumar
Of course, in a context where over 300 hours of video are uploaded every minute on YouTube! hardly anyone has seen or will see those songs. It will be extremely rare if anyone will even see this post. But if the goal is action (regardless of the inevitable limited visibility), my doing something is at least a start.
NAyK Music is divided through playlists; where each playlist has a unique name and volume number. NAyK Music, Vol. 1 is a collection of instrumentals and covers… so NOT original music. Most of the songs in this playlist feature me playing or singing songs that I grew up singing as a kid. And through the years they have remained meaningful to me. In my journey to learn computer/keyboard music, I thought it was a good exercise to revisit these classics by making instrumental versions and covers of them. By doing this, I was not only learn the new music technology, but also relearning these life-shaping songs. Instrumentals & Covers | NAyK Music, Vol. 1
NAyK Music, Vol. 2 is a collection of original praise and worship songs (mostly in English, but a few in Hindi and Kannada). The songs are mainly directed to God, and intended for use in the local church. Many of the songs are drawn from Bible verses directly, and the tune is intended to be singable by a congregation (though some may be easier than others). Praise and Worship | NAyK Music, Vol. 2
NAyK Music, Vol. 3 features songs that are intended to be thought provoking or reflective, so not really “church” music (meaning not meant to be sung by a local church congregation). The songs are personal in that, even though many are directed to God, they are not praise and worship songs but rather expressions of and from the Christian faith experience. Some of the songs are about deep spiritual struggle, some express faith in God in the midst of challenges and some even challenge believers to live to please God. While they cannot be sung by a typical local church congregation, because they are still faith-based, the songs are intended for the Church (for the lives of the believers). Typical and untypical | NAyK Music, Vol. 3
NAyK Music, Vol. 4 has mostly Hindi (and a few Kannada) language original songs. This playlist collects my local-language songs, either for in-Church praise and worship contexts or for broader Christian application. Some of those songs may be featured in other playlists, but here the focus on songs that expand the local-language music canon. Hindi Christian | NAyK Music, Vol. 4
A personal confession about the music. I know I am a poor singer, and even my music production skills are not that great. Similarly, the recording and videos are of a poor quality. It was partly embarrassment that had prevented me from uploading my songs earlier. But I guess I stand by the songs I have written, and I feel more Indian Christians should be writing/singing songs, more Indian Christians should be singing/speaking from the heart, and that’s what I’m intending to do with the music. But having said this, I’m hoping that the few who do see the songs will be gentle in their criticism.
Below is a link to one of my own personal favourites:
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