Score Indie Quickie: TV Dinner
From Parekh & Singh to TV Dinner— what inspired this transition, and how does it feel to be back as a solo artist? My approach to creating and making things has always been about telling a story. The Parekh & Singh story has been told, and I am happy with the manner in which that has played out. Projects, identities and monikers are fun vehicles for my songs to travel in. TV Dinner is the new vehicle and it’ s one that I hope is spacious and comfortable enough for lots of music and lots of stories.
What does the name‘ TV Dinner’ signify to you? Is there a particular story behind it? TV was and is my greatest vice. I am a voracious consumer of content, I love watching anything on TV – films, trashy reality shows, documentaries on architecture and even sports! I think of television as a window into the zeitgeist. I have spent many evenings of my life eating a comforting meal in front of a screen. I would like to embrace the universal feeling of intimacy and restfulness that a TV Dinner gives us
Your latest single,‘ Non Believers’, is a deeply personal song. How did it evolve from heartbreak in 2016 to a song of optimism today? Songs are living things to me. They breather and grow and learn from life.‘ Non Believers’ started off young and unfinished as we all do. It was initially written as a heartbroken reaction to love that had ended. I
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20 highonscore. com felt hopeless about the of finding true love again, I’ m quite sentimental( as most songwriters probably are). Life surprised me and proved me wrong, I went on to find the love of my life and marry her, we now have a 20-month-old son and the song also grew up and is finally finished. A happy ending if there ever was one.
How does TV Dinner differ musically and thematically from Parekh & Singh? Are there elements you’ ve intentionally kept or moved away from? I’ m not very good at compartmentalizing my creativity. I just write the songs that feel personal and true to me, and I always have since I started making songs at the age of 15. So the thematic lines between Parekh & Singh and TV dinner will be heavily blurred. The big difference will be that the project will have many more collaborators and perspectives – I’ m looking forward to it being a fertile playground for teamwork and communal creativity.
You’ re planning to release a song every month— what’ s driving this new prolific approach to releasing music? I love publishing work. The act of sharing my craft has been what has changed my life. I also hate waiting, it strips me of excitement and positivity. I always want to be in a state of flow with imagining, creating and sharing music.
Having moved to Dubai, how has this shift in environment influenced your songwriting and creative process? It took me a while to adjust the life outside of India. Dubai is an exceedingly comfortable city to live in and it also is a melting pot of cultures from across the globe. I feel like I could have almost any experience I want in Dubai and the air is clean where I live. It’ s also a great city to raise children. All these factors allow me to be relaxed and happy, and I tend to be very productive when I’ m happy.
Your past music videos were known for their unique, Wes Anderson-esque aesthetic. Can we expect a similar visual identity for TV Dinner? TV Dinner will have a visual identity of its own. I love the making the P & S videos and I loved our suits, but there’ s more to explore now.
What kind of collaborations are you looking forward to under TV Dinner? Any dream artists you’ d love to work with? I’ d love to make a chamber pop album with a great string quartet or even an orchestra. I’ ve been working on writing music for strings and woodwinds for a few years now. Specific artists I’ d love to work with include Japanese Breakfast, Haim, Mali, Tanmay Bhatnagar & Karshni Nair.
You mentioned performing more regularly and planning an Indian tour— what can fans expect from a TV Dinner live set? Pure unadulterated imagination and joy. I feel the P & S live shows were stiff and regimented at times, I want to build a live show that breathes and has wide margins for error, something natural and effortlessly beautiful. I also want there to be surprises, no two shows will ever be the same.
Looking ahead, what’ s the ultimate vision for TV Dinner? Is it a long-term project, or do you see it evolving into something else? TV Dinner will be my primary are of work for the foreseeable future. I would like to release tons of music and play shows across the world, and evolving my creative practice in the process.