Vince Leigh’s Single Review: How To Be You by Anirban Jee
By Vince Leigh (Ex drummer of Pseudo Echo, Tina Arena and John Farnham) of Australian Radio Promotion for Sheldon Ang Media
In the sometimes monotonous wave of Australian R&B and pop, Anirban Jee’s presence isn’t just a ripple but rather a developing undercurrent. His career arc, less about explosive pyrotechnics and more about slow-burning constancy, has been nuanced but vigorous. His latest offering, How To Be You, reveals an assertive musician willing to expand his adopted musical palette.
Let’s get some context first: The guy’s been chipping away for a while now. Back in 2014, he nudged into the top 10 of the Australian Songwriting Awards. A year later, his song Undecided took the pole position. Fast-forward to 2017, his tune Deep Down travelled far enough to grab a top honour in an international category. And then, the year being 2022, Will Above My Wish made its mark as a finalist in the UK. Not a band catalogue of steadily escalating mini triumphs. How To Be You, is a slow sip of whisky, not a tequila shot.
Jee mixes his R&B roots with just enough funk and soul to keep you wondering what the next note might bring. The production value, overseen by Steve Peach, doesn’t clamour for your attention but rather earns it, letting Jee’s vocals take centre stage where they most naturally belong. What makes How To Be You worth more than a cursory listen isn’t just the technical chops but the flesh-and-blood reality soaking through its lyrics. The song, Jee tells us, is a nod to the guides and mentors who’ve lit up the path for him. There’s no pretence here, just a lived truth that touches everyone from the everyman to the enlightened, making the song an understated but potent hymn for those of us still wrestling with our better angels.
Given the airplay he’s already enjoyed—from the more commercially tuned arenas of COLES RADIO and MOOD MEDIA IN-STORE to broader platforms like FLOW FM and ABC LOCAL—Jee doesn’t need my blessing or anyone else’s. But How To Be You stands to take him from being Australia’s open secret to becoming the global hit-maker he’s clearly got the potential to be. And isn’t that the essence of what the long road in the music hustle is supposed to lead to?
