In search of the elusive Narrow Smith

September 28, 2016 10:49 pm | Updated November 01, 2016 09:34 pm IST

The writer unravels the mystery behind the deliberately anonymous singer of the Tamil song ‘Texas Pogiraen’

Narrow Smith Photo: Special Arrangement

Narrow Smith Photo: Special Arrangement

The first time I heard ‘Texas Pogiraen’, a song in upcoming Tamil film Chennai 2 Singapore , I laughed out loud. It was unlike anything I’d heard before.

The next time I heard it, I tried dissecting the voice behind the song. The warning at the beginning of the number — ‘This song is not for the faint-hearted; listen to it at your own discretion’ — got me curious about the singer, credited as ‘Narrow Smith’.

It was then that I remembered a video I watched four months ago on ‘The Story behind Texas Pogiraen.’ It featured three men — all in silhouette, thanks to clever studio lighting — jamming together, trying to arrive at a tune.

The one on the left wore a smart hat and was trying to sing… err, shout… a tune that had the words ‘Dandanaka’ and ‘Oh yeah’ peacefully co-existing with each other.

I’d not given that video much thought then — except perhaps to note how Ghibran (the music composer) was rolling on the floor laughing. I didn’t expect to be doing exactly the same thing when the track released.

Quickly, following standard journalistic procedure, I searched for ‘Narrow Smith’ online. I got no results. And absolutely no photos at all.

Now, even more curious about the man behind that distinctive voice, I texted Sharanya Gopinath. She’s the female singer credited in the song, so I naturally assumed that it would be easy for me to track Narrow through her. “I don’t know him,” she said.

I was startled. Here was a female singer who had absolutely no idea about her male counterpart, even after the song had released and got more than a lakh views on YouTube. It made me more determined to track Narrow down.

The next stop was, obviously, music director Ghibran. The composer had recorded him and would know how to find him, I figured. I’d get the singer’s contact details from him and do a quick interview.

But the composer’s answer shook me out of my complacency. “He (Narrow Smith) has asked me to keep his identity secret,” Ghibran told me, “He sees himself as a wandering soul who does not want to be contacted unless he is convinced that it doesn’t disturb his state of mind.”

That caught my attention. After a series of emails and WhatsApp messages, I tracked down a Singapore-based lady who is reportedly Narrow Smith’s manager. She’s also the only means to reach him.

Finally: I got in touch with Narrow Smith. So here’s my email interaction with the singer who wishes to remain in incognito mode — make what you will from the answers.

Who are you and where are you from?

Narrow Smith is the legendary rock band Aerosmith’s lead singer Steven Tyler’s backup singer’s dumped husband-to-be. His family lineage comes from Poland, German, Italy, Yugoslavia, a tad bit of Africa and also very mildly China. He was born and raised in France, and after that, his parents shifted to London and then to New York. Now, he is in a remote part of Turkmenistan, seeking solitude.

He also has the habit of speaking in third person.

What is your musical background?

Narrow Smith’s musical background is too deep and vast for ordinary people to understand. He trains and practises a form of music that only supreme beings can comprehend. The music and sounds that he hears exceed the limitation of psychoacoustics. Legends depict that he can hear subsonic sounds as low as 7Hz.

If you’re anonymous, how did Ghibran manage to reach you and record ‘Texas Pogiraen’ with you?

Ghibran was on a tour in Paris some time ago, and he heard from a friend that someone died while listening to another man singing. Obviously, he got curious and contacted hundreds of people to try to reach Narrow Smith.

At last, he found Narrow Smith, and insisted, compelled and threatened to be the first composer to introduce the unique timbre of Narrow’s voice to the world.

Finally, he said that this world shouldn’t be deprived of hearing this voice.

So, Narrow Smith agreed to sing his first ever commercial song as a form of public service to humankind.

I’ve listened to ‘Texas Pogiraen’ at least 50 times and still cannot figure what genre it falls under…

This is the purest form of rock — called dumprock — that has been forgotten. ‘Texas Pogiraen’ has revived this form of rock.

The biggest challenge for Narrow Smith was learning Tamil. He usually walks German, talks Polish and eats French.

Will Narrow Smith sing more and in other genres as well?

He has heard of Anirudh, whose music has reached Turkmenistan, and if he likes the dumprock genre, why not? But Narrow Smith is not willing to experiment in any other genres or decibels.

What songs does Narrow Smith listen to? Is there a playlist he frequently hears?

He listens to only Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar. Though he is dead, he often appears in Narrow’s subconscious mind and performs a concert just for him. So, a playlist, device or earphones are redundant when music is played within the deep recesses of the soul.

Other than Chembai, Narrow also secretly listens to ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ by Dr Seuss.

Would you describe yourself as a ‘recluse’?

The human language and communication is limited by a concept called words. I can’t be limited to a single word or description.

How is it to lead a nomadic life?

You should ask a nomad.

What’s an average day like in the life of Narrow Smith?

He drives Uber from 8 to 5. And then sleeps before the sun sets. In between, he writes songs and sells them for a profit to unsuspecting individuals from around the world.

Why is there nothing about Narrow Smith on the Internet?

Every year, he spends 1.3 million USD to scrub everything about him on the Internet.

His philosophy is that what is unknown should remain unknown by all known ways. And Internet is the devil that he will not be a part of, except to upload songs on YouTube. Narrow Smith might even open up a Facebook page soon due to popular demand. Other than that, Internet is off limits.

Finally, what is Narrow Smith’s real name?

If he has to tell you that, he will first have to kill you. But he can be contacted at TheNarrowSmith

@gmail.com

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