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Duncan Sheik, musician
"I had such a crazy morning and I didn't get to pray," says Duncan Sheik,
settling down into a lotus position in his airy Tribeca loft: beads
in hand,
candles flickering, eyes darting behind closed lids. "This helps keep
me
grounded." He rings a cowbell, and a few seconds later, an undulating
moan
rises up from him, deep and gutteral, like a cow being poked in the
ribs. Not
exactly your typical bowl-of-Wheaties head start on the day, but what
do you
expect from a practicing Buddhist struggling with the existential demands
of
pop celebrity? Given the stunning successs of his eponymous first album,
it's
hardly surprising that the sensitive 28 year-old singer, whose smash
hit
"Barely Breathing" was nominated for a Grammy, finds himself in need
of
grounding. Especially now that his hypnotic new album Humming, has
captivated
critics even more than his first. "There is a much more philosophical
approach to my new work," says Sheik, whose new CD offers homages to
aging
rock stars and meditative ballads about the superficialty of fame.
"That's
not to say there aren't any love songs on there," he says, with a bashful
smile. "But there is definately less of that forlorn, lost-in-love,
Duncan
Sheik nonsense."