My Compelling Story

  Sheldon D’Silva is a professional bassist based out of the finance capital of India, Mumbai. Sheldon, son of Trevor and Rekha D’Silva, was exposed to the world of music by his father who taught him to play the bass guitar when he was only 12 and has always cherished the support he received from his parents in pursuing music. Filled with an equal amount of passion, he dedicated himself to practice while quenching his sheer thirst for knowledge by observing the adroit musicians play. He believes that the bass is a bridge between rhythm and melody and hence is an integral part of any band regardless of the genre. With increasing encouragement and his father’s persistence, he started performing with local rock bands that, although senior to him, could not deny his talent. Every such opportunity felt like a major break for him and continually egged him on. By age 13, he had the opportunity to meet the legendary Louis Banks, who has been a great mentor and support in helping him pursue his career as a bass player. Three years later, he found himself in his own band, Nexus, with Sangeet Haldipur and Gino Banks doing what they did best – creating new sounds and experimenting with music. As if this didn’t take up all his time, Sheldon was a science student at St Andrews College and later graduated as a commercial artist from BD Somani Institute of Art and Fashion Technology. Till date, he puts all that he learnt from here as well into practice. Inspired by renowned bass guitarists, Jaco Pastorius, John Patitucci, Gary Willis, Victor Wooten right until Sting’s tasteful bass playing, Sheldon hopes to change the way bass players are generally seen in the background and bring to the forefront the Expected importance and the real sound of the bass guitar. He doesn’t aspire to be a perfectionist, as he believes that making mistakes is not only inevitable but it is a very crucial part of growth. In spite of having explored every genre of music right from pop and rock to jazz, funk and fusion, Sheldon still doesn’t believe in sticking to one. He believes that he can further his journey only if he continues to explore various avenues and delve deeper into this mystical and creative world of music.