From the first single Pata Nahin to Jeena Chahun , you have come quite a distance . Talk to us about how you started out as a musician
I was 4 when I started learning Hindustani Classical Music from Sh . Anirudhha Pandey ( Kirana Gharana ). My grandmother , who passed away in just 3 months after I was born , was a beautiful singer is what I have been told . She had a Master ’ s degree in Hindustani Music . I believe I got my musicality from her . No one else in my family has been into music . I have always been the one taking different routes in my family . Everyone in my family is an engineer , I am a private equity consultant ( chose Commerce in school ). This being said , my parents have been extremely supportive of my music . Fortunately , my school had one of the finest musicians to teach me and that really helped me improve as a vocalist and keyboard player . I went on to learn Tabla for two years from Sh . Kumar Rishitosh ( Banaras Gharana ) and also started learning Hindustani Classical Music from Sh . Avinash Kumar ( Faculty of Arts , Delhi University ), while I completed Sangeet Visharad from Prayaag Sangeet Samiti , Allahabad .
You were launched by the esteemed composers Merchant Records . How did that happen ?
As interesting as it could get , I met Salim Merchant Sir virtually on an Instagram Live . It was the peak pandemic and lockdown phase and Salim sir had started this live video to find new talent and called it ‘ Monday Mehfil ’. I got a chance to join in after my constant spam on his comments section to let me in and played one of my originals ‘ Pata Nahin ’ to him . He instantly loved it and connected with me a few days later to ask if I wish to release the song via Merchant Records . It did not stop here – Salim sir offered to produce the song himself and it has been one of the best and the most dreamy thing that has happened to me .
Could you take us through your process of writing music and what inspires you to do so ?
Most of my songs come from my own life . My mom has been a Hindi teacher and that has tremendously helped me in developing a poetic vocabulary of my own . I write the melody and the lyrics together instead of writing either of them first . I wrote Pata Nahin around 2017 , close to my board examinations . The song talks about being lost in a certain race , not knowing what exactly one is looking for . Jeena Chahun has been highly inspired from the independent life I recently started living in Gurgaon ,
away from my parents . So , my writing is very nonfictional and comes from a place of honesty . This has always been appreciated by my listeners and thus , people engage with my songs a lot because of the relatability quotient .
You work closely with Merchant Records . Take us through the work you do with / for them
Well , a lot of things ! I have always been a marketing enthusiast . Even though , my primary job is of a private equity consultant at a global consulting firm , I still spend time in devising partnership and marketing strategies for Merchant Records . To add to that , I work as a talent scout / A & R to find promising and upcoming artists , so that we could give them a launchpad , the same way I got from Salim Sir .
We are a small team at Merchant Records but everyone is pumped to take up whatever comes their way . So , it ’ s really hard to define what I exactly do . From working on video concepts to scouting artists , from handling the project finances and timelines as an executive producer to handling the social media – I do everything I can with the capacity and capability I have .
What are some of your key takeaways from working with legendary composers such as Salim and Sulaiman . How has it helped shape you into being a better musician ?
You never stop learning . Salim and Sulaiman sirs have been in the music industry for more than 30
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