George Peter of rock band 13 AD says his new single ‘Water’ is inspired by climate change

George Peter in the video
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

His new single, ‘Water’, musician George Peter says, has been inspired by the worrying scenario about water — “they say the next world war could be fought over water. Global warming is causing climate change which in turn is impacting ecology and the environment. Groundwater levels are depleting, there is a scarcity of water… it is like that line ‘water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink’.” He hopes the song would reach more people, and that they understand how precarious the situation is.

The video for the ‘cause-driven’ track was shot in the United Arab Emirates. It captures the mood and the likely future — scary and water-less — that we are staring at. Although he wrote the song a couple of years ago, it took shape when he connected with a friend, Alex George, who is based in Dubai. A guitarist, Alex liked what he heard of the rough track and lyrics and he was on board as producer as well. 

George hopes that ‘Water’ would resonate with people and encourage them to be more conscious about their behaviour with relation to use/abuse of natural resources. “I recognise that one song will not make a difference. But this is for the person in the mirror. Each one of us can make a change, if we want to,” he says over the phone .

His last song for a cause was ‘One The Unity Song’ (2012). It had musicians such as KJ Yesudas, KS Chitra, Usha Uthup, Shwetha Mohan, Sayonara, Vijay Yesudas, Mamata Mohandas perform alongside a host of actors including Suresh Gopi and Vivek Oberoi.

George is best known as the lead singer of the pathbreaking rock band from Kerala 13 AD. Inspiration for him, as songwriter, comes from Sting’s song-writing. “I am inspired by how he approaches a subject, how he writes lyrics. His songs are deeply philosophical.”  

The years spent in the industry as singer, composer, arranger, lyricist and working with greats such as AR Rahman gave him access to technicians including Grammy-winning mix engineer and record producer PA Deepak, who worked with him on ‘Water’. The video has been directed by ad filmmaker, Jovan John. The musicians who collaborated on the project are Aalap Raju (bassist), Keba Jeremiah (guitarist), Siddharth Nagarajan (drums), Suresh Prasad (mridangam), Selva Ganesh (khanjira) and Tejas Vinchurkar. George’s daughter, Isabel Maria, and music director, Deepak Dev’s daughters, Devika and Pallavi, have also sung in the video.    

George hopes the song resonates since it is imperative that “to get the message out there as it is for a good cause.”