Finding an original song for a school project wasn’t too difficult for a Richmond student whose mom is the vocalist of local band Urban Myth.
Noble Bhathena, a Grade 12 McMath student, wanted to create a video to not only celebrate Steveston winning the recent CBC Best Neighbourhood contest, but also to recognize his mom Jasmine Bharucha’s unreleased music.
The songFog Horn Blowing, an original by Bharucha, not only fits the theme of Steveston, but also reflects a happy and positive community, according to Bhathena.
“I wanted to represent Steveston through the music video so that if somebody were to watch it, they would be like ‘wow that’s what Steveston is like,’” he added.
Bharucha told the Richmond News that this song, among many others, has been put away since 2008.
“I never released the music because at the time, my record label would need me to tour for six months and there was no way I could do that and leave my kids so I put it away, carried on with my life and forgot about it,” said Bharucha.
“What’s amazing now is how Noble is taking the time to put me and my passion first as his priority, as I did for my children back then.”
Bhathena’s interest in digital media was sparked after taking a business media class in Grade 9 and he continued media courses until he couldn’t take them anymore.
His interest in the field was also supported by the Richmond Youth Media Lab program – a program where students can access resources for any digital media work in Richmond.
“I do documentaries a lot for school projects … but when I thought of my mom’s songs, I just wanted to take it and grab footage with her in the community for this video,” said Bhathena.
“My mom still has quite a few good songs that no one knows about and I want to make sure there are some good videos that could capture the intention of those songs.”
While he intends to make more music videos, they will only be a side hobby for now.
Bhathena plans to study in the area of business, money management and law in post-secondary after he graduates.
