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Salim Merchant, a well-known singer and composer, feels that their most recent song, Sukoon, which was written with Sulaiman and sung by Arijit Singh, is about telling people to take a closer look at themselves.

”The idea behind this song is to remind people that they need to look inwards, because every solution is within yourself. We just keep on searching for answers, but forget to look within ourselves. This song is a reminder that all the answers are within you. Our music is usually about that, but this song is more direct,” says Salim.

Explaining the thought behind it, he adds, “There was a note by Imam Ali which struck a chord with both of us. It talked about this idea only, about how inner peace is something that is not exactly pursued, because people are looking for answers elsewhere. So the entire composition is like that.”

Salim said on Instagram on Monday that the process of recording the song was nearly spiritual. After receiving an invitation from Arijit Singh, he recalled visiting Jiaganj (West Bengal) in January. He said the town’s serene, grounded environment was ideal for recording Sukoon.

The team made the trip right after Arijit’s Ahmedabad concert, spending a day together talking about music, technology and nature, enjoying homecooked food, and even a game of badminton before heading into the recording session. “I felt the frequency of the place was unlike any normal city. It was calm, grounded, and almost — spiritual – just the right setting to record, because it felt like one itself,” he wrote on Instagram.

Reflecting on how seamlessly it all came together, Salim says, “We recorded it all in one day. He (Arijit Singh) recorded the entire song in 5-6 hours and that is what we all needed. It’s a beautiful song that I am sure will resonate with everyone.”