Ajay Mathur’s new release ‘Anytime At All (Aftermath of Silence) – The Moment of Clarity.
In November 2021 Ajay Mathur released his mix ‘Anytime At All (Aftermath of Silence)’ with both the intimacy of acoustic and the beating drum intro this has become one of Mathur’s highest played songs on Spotify. The song, which is from his upcoming album, has followed from his already successful single “I Need You Now” released in August 2021. Mathur is a Grammy-nominated musician, an impeccable achievement for any singer-songwriter. He grew up in India, now residing in Switzerland where all his musical ideas come to life.
The track itself, ‘Anytime At All (Aftermath of Silence) most definitely is one that never gets old, written shortly after John Lennon’s death, it is dedicated to the legendary musician. The lyrics came from within Mathur’s emotional trauma felt by Lennon’s death, relatable to that of what fans felt all over the world. Although this wasn’t the first time Ajay has been exposed to death, having lost both of his parents when he was just a toddler, he exerts this pain and emotion into his music which can be felt through his vocals.
Written from the perspective of someone who was nearby when Lennon was tragically shot, from both the lyrics and instrumental you feel the unreal sense of disbelief. Moving forward to 2020, the world is in the grips of a pandemic, locking us inside. Ajay spends this time in his home studio, listening to his favorite records, some of which are The Beatles and John Lennon of course. This moment brings inspiration and motivation, he picks up his guitar, following that Anytime At All (Aftermath of Silence) infiltrates the room. At this point, Mathur has finally found the emotional strength and the right instrumental to create his song.
Ajay felt that he needed to convey the clarity that he himself felt when he revisited the song in April 2020. He reached out to a friend and pianist Michael Dolmetsch, who was someone Ajay always wanted to work with but never had the chance to. Michael instantly understood what Ajay wanted to exert through his music, from this he created an elegant grand piano instrumental. Ajay went on to work with many other musicians to create his touching track. Steve Birrer added pedal steel to enhance the fluidity of the track. After Ajay recorded his vocal, the song was mixed by Grammy award-winning engineer Austin Asvanonda, who had worked with the Rolling Stones.
He also worked with another award-winning producer/remixer Philip Larsen who has successfully worked with musicians like Human League, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga, among many others. Philip created the more contemporary version of the song, which was released with the single. Ajay chose the timing of the release to fit with Lennon’s birthday on October 9 and the anniversary of his death on December 8.
“People exit our lives for many different reasons – end of a relationship, geographic separation, death by illness, carelessness or maliciousness of others – and we are forced to face the void. Recognizing that they are never really gone is where we can begin to find peace and comfort. “Anytime At All (Aftermath of Silence)” describes that moment of clarity, that the people who have touched you deeply are always going to be there with you. All you’ve gotta do is call.” – Ajay Mathur
Ajay understands death, along with the emotions that come with it, he wants others to acknowledge that there is a sense of clarity when you realize although that person is not physically there, doesn’t mean they aren’t there with you – as his song suggests all you’ve got to do is call.
Ajay Mathur Website / Artist pages
