|
The Enlightened
One: Buddahead
By David Chiu
He doesn't have a cherubic face or a bald
head, but Raman Kia (aka Buddahead) offers something equally
enlightening and spiritual similar to the real Buddha. And after
what this New York-based singer songwriter had gone through for
most of his early life, you can understand why.
Kia is originally from Iran and grew up
during in the late '70s when he witnessed the fall of the shah,
the emergence of Ayatollah Khomeini, and the war against Iraq.
"I witnessed the bloodshed of the revolution through my
bedroom window," he remembers now. "The war followed
pretty soon afterwards really and I was in Tehran when the Iraqi
bomber planes would raid us nightly Those times have made me
a much more appreciative person-the little things are enough."
And yet through all the war-torn strife,
he played the piano and recorded songs as gifts to his family.
Kia developed a love for Western pop music including such acts
like the Beatles, Bread, Simon and Garfunkel, and Cat Stevens.
He credits all that to his father and says, "He gave me
the first records I ever listened too."
At that point the only way out was to leave
Iran and live with his mother in England. Once he was there he
enrolled in a Roman Catholic military school, which was not a
pleasant experience by his own admission. It seemed strange that
a kid raised in a Muslim-dominated country would end up with
a Catholic education. "By the time I got to England I was
such a resilient little kid nothing could shock me," says
Kia. "Besides, my family is very unreligious so I didn't
have a conflict of religions going on."
Those experiences of being dislocated and
the feelings that came with that might have shaped his view of
the world and himself in his art. "Perhaps my lyrics more
than anything in the way that my character as an adult is reflected
in optimism and hope of my lyrics," he says. From that came
his debut Crossing The Invisible Line (Sanctuary), a gorgeous,
sometimes eye-opening and uplifting rock record for anyone doing
some major soul-searching. Its standout song is the soaring "When
I Fall," and Buddahead (or should I say Kia) explains how
it came to be written. "It was just after a relationship
break up and I was drowning my sorrows in Amsterdam," says
Kia. "I took the whole metaphor too far and abused my body
and mind. This left me in an intoxicated and over emotional state
and in desperate need of emotional support."
That song became the springboard in the
making of the entire album as Kia explains the process. "I
would say from that point, including all the songs that didn't
make the album, and time taken away from the studio to tour,
the album was about 3 years in the making. I did not set out
with a pre-conceived notion of what it should be. I let the creative
juices unfold and as they did I kind of took the bits that made
sense together and called it an album."
Even when he was going through that particular
difficult period early in his life, he saw in music as something
he always wanted to be a part of. "The first time I heard
music I knew. The first time I saw a music video I again knew.
The first time I played an instrument I knew. Strangely, the
first time I fell in love I also knew.
"All types of music and musicians
would inspire me. I was so in love with craft and so hungry I
would study the singers, the songwriters, the players and producers.
The list would just go on and on and."
While he was recording Crossing the
Invisible Line, Kia was also performing live for a year and
a half. It was a trip to New York where he visited the apartment
of singer/songwriter Leona Naess that earned him his present
moniker. "[Leona] did really call me Buddahead," he
remembers, "and even though I was not mad about the name,
it did become a nickname, and it was better than anything else
I came up with as a band name."
Now that the album has been released Kia
and the band are continuing to tour to drum up support while
reaching out to those who may not know what their music is. It
might seem like a daunting task for a newcomer, but Kia sees
it differently. "I actually think it is much harder to play
in front of people you know. If my mother ever came to a show,
I would probably be a nervous wreck. My band and I do however
thrive on the challenge to win audiences over and more times
than not we do...thankfully."
Raman Kia has come a long way from the
heartbreak and tragedy in Iran, and now that he is grown and
making a name for himself, would he ever return to play music
there? As any proof of his universal spirit, he simply says,
"I would like to play my music anywhere!" But New York
right now is his home and like many of its visitors, he's caught
up in the buzz of the Big Apple. "The energy of the city
drew me here," he says. "It is amazing to be young
here. Anything is possible in New York City."
|
