Singled Out: Sami Chohfi's Dirty Your Soul

Keavin Wiggins | 07-02-2020

Singer/songwriter Sami Chohfi just released a music video for his new single "Dirty Your Soul" that was filmed in India. To celebrate we asked him to tell us about the song video. Here is the story:

I remember walking the streets of Lisbon, Portugal as I heard a street musician playing this beautiful song. In a crowd of tourists, I was the only person who seemed to be listening. This reminded me of how being an artist can sometimes be a lonely journey. When we reveal our souls all we want is the opportunity to connect with others. All of us just want to be loved, remembered, and understood. I gave that talented musician five euros then proceeded to walk along the pier. This melody entered my head with the lyric "life will dirty your soul".

I pulled out my cell phone right then and there and starting humming what is now the chorus to Dirty Your Soul. I am pretty sure by the way people were looking at me, they thought I was crazy. I went to my hotel shortly after and wrote the entire song in about an hour. I decided to film the music video in India during the festival of colors known as the Holi Festival. I wanted the video to have lots of vibrant energy. That is how I would describe India and its people. We filmed in various locations, the majestic and very colorful New Rangji Mandir temple in Vrindavan, the mesmerizing Patrika Gate in Jaipur, and the Old Delhi Spice Market.

The music video was filmed in 10 magical days. My favorite moments filming was the powder fight with the kids, and filming in the back of a fruit and nut carrier cart through the Old Delhi Spice Market. Watching people's reaction was priceless. It was hard to not smile the entire time that we were filming. Everyone in India is so friendly that it was impossible not to engage with them as I was performing the song. The children in India are great dancers and fell in love with the energy and vibe of the song which you can clearly see in their performance. This was by far the best time I ever had filming a music video. The coolest thing is that all the magical moments shared with the people made the final edit.

The production of Dirty is actually the simplest of all the songs off of Extraordinary World. The percussion is eight layers of finger snaps shakers. The melody in the bridge that sounds like a xylophone is actually a Paul Reed Smith electric guitar named Shadow being processed through an old school Hammond Leslie speaker with a touch of 1970's vintage chorus and delay. That's it... simple yet effective!

If I could give my younger self advice, I would tell him this: "While life might bruise your body and dirty your soul along the way, you should remember to always find hope in yourself and fight for a better tomorrow".

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself here and watch a behind the scenes featurette below:

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