ARTIST OF THE MONTH VINEET SINGH HUKMANI
Your journey towards ‘ serious ’ music making started quite recently , please tell us more about it . What made you want to dedicate more time towards creating and releasing your music in 2020 ?
In my imagination this journey of my songs playing on the radio everywhere in the world started out when I was in my teens . Radio was very big in the gulf countries and this gave me a lot of exposure to pop 40 music and the power of radio & charts at a very impressionable age . I was in bands in college and always dreamt of immersing myself in music , but more often than not , life has a different path for you . Being an Engineer & Harvard Business School alumnus , I found myself working & climbing the corporate ladder . This led me to being founder of India ’ s only international radio network , Radio One in India where I was MD & CEO for over 12 years . Once I exited that role in 2019 , I did a few music demos and this connected me to some people in the global music scene who encouraged me to produce music more seriously . 2020 saw me releasing 8 singles that helped me better understand the global radio airplay scenario . Now in 2021 with 5 singles into the year , I feel I am on the right track globally thanks to my agent Martin and the producers / musicians I work with .
Tell us about your latest track " i Pray ". as also your July release Turnin ’ Back Time … What was the idea behind these two tracks ?
While usually my songs have an ‘ idea ’ behind it , i Pray has a ‘ feeling ’ behind it . To tell you the truth , I wrote the song for myself . To help me feel stronger and optimistic in these really harsh times . As I was writing it , putting it to music I felt the song can really connect with anyone . Praying is not about religion or rituals but it is a simple act of connecting with the large life force around us and using that faith to weaken the fear we feel . The song talks about the need to be grateful and how you naturally pray for the people you care about . I always wanted to do a song for Hip-Hop radio and I felt ‘ i Pray ’ could become a really cool way to communicate the mystery and innocence of prayer .
Listeners of the song have told me that this is a really easy way for them to relate to praying and that helps me feel the song is working . My favourite line in the song is “ Optimism is O2 for the soul ’ and when you emerge from prayer you are filled with this ‘ I can do this ’ feeling which is what we all need right now .
On Turning Back Time , well , it puts time travel in your control ! We have a treasure chest of memories that we can delve into when we need to , especially when the present is lackluster and the future is uncertain . Our memories of travel , romance , adventure can be a great motivator and map for all we desire doing in the future . Turning Back Time is an upbeat and sweet ‘ Daft Punk-ish ’ sound enhanced with today ’ s production values and I personally love synth-pop so it was a pleasure to produce this single . The video will help you feel … ‘ Wow those were the days and I ’ m gonna make them come alive again !’
Congratulations on making it to global charts . How does it feel to be recognised for your independent work worldwide ?
Charts are a measure of how much your songs are playing on tens of thousands of radio stations worldwide . It feels great to be able to touch the hearts of listeners on the other side of the world and feel the growing momentum of the belief of radio programmers worldwide .
My charting journey started with my songs in 2020 , mostly on the independent music charts like the European Top 100 and the World Indie Music charts . These charts are essentially based on the amount of
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