Amit Rai Sharma

Amit Rai Sharma is a London-born Indian, based between London, UK and Changhua, Taiwan. Frontman and singer of notable London band Ex Libras, Amit has cultivated a career in creativity over the years through various disciplines including sound art, composition for theatre & dance, and public installations. Now, as a solo artist, Amit is ready to share a project that began to blossom as far back as 2007.

In 2015, after an unfortunate, albeit cliched, situation with his up-and-coming band Ex Libras, Amit found himself at a crossroads. With a sense of loss and indecision engulfing him, it took the love and support of three people to change his mind. Amit’s mother showed him that he once had a raging fire inside him, but now that fire had been beaten down into barely-a-flame. And when the seams started to come apart, his wife stitched him back together. And a family friend, Iain, not aware of any of these lows, after asking him to play a one-off show, became a constant force, pushing Amit to write, record, and finish the record.

The result of which culminated in the completion of his stunning record, Bnju LP. Having spent various years dipping in and out and laying down ideas, teaching himself how to record, how to craft and mix, the album began to take on some shape by 2018. By 2023, and his move to Taiwan, Amit spent a month completing the recording, getting over his own complex around his voice when singing, and mixing, and 2024 ironing out final mixes and plucking up the courage to actually release the record.

What Amit has achieved is nothing short of remarkable. Bnju flutters beautifully throughout offering the glitchy, yet melodic, instrumentals of bands such as Toe, with the bittersweet complexity of Radiohead’s electronica. From the reflective opener ‘To The Bitter End’, written after the passing of his uncle and dedicated to Amit’s family, to ‘Pieces’; written from the perspective of his grandmother dealing with dementia, Bnju is a highly emotive collection of songs.

As the listener delves further into the album, the layers of Amit’s life present themselves in a way we can all identify with. ‘21 Rote’ is a reflective, angular and intense piece of music, laden with loop pedals and offering a sentiment that ‘no matter what - pick yourself up’. ‘Ours For Hours’ illuminates Amit’s serenity in the present, and showcases his sumptuous vocal and skilful songwriting craft. While opening single Spells & Charms & Broken Homes finds Amit reflecting on his upbringing and his parents failed arranged marriage, and the social and cultural pressures that get passed down through traditions.

A work of sonic and emotional artistry, Bnju is a record written, recorded, mixed and produced by an independent, musician and deserves the attention of music lovers worldwide.

Single Spells & Charms & Broken Homes is out on 2nd April and is taken from the album Bnju, out later this year.