Interview with
GAURAV
BALANI
Apart from his heavy-duty touring with some of the biggest acts of the
country (Parikrama, Shubha Mudgal, Aditi Singh Sharma), Gaurav Balani has
started to make waves with his solo projects.
Titled INALAB (featuring Gaurav's independent creations) and the Couch
Potato Series (a fan art series dedicated to the soundtracks of TV series based
on Gaurav's interpretations), the two projects are diverse and engaging. He actively
started working on them in 2016 and the New Year saw the release of two tracks from
each of his projects, which have received thousands of hits. He is all set to release a
track from each of his projects, this month.
Tell us about INALAB
I've been composing for as long as I can remember but I only
released my compositions starting last year. INALAB is my
solo setup where I collaborate with and feature various artists
that I've been wanting to work with... It's like having a massive
band because the songs feature some amazing artists from the
India and abroad. This setup is my biggest focus right now and
I'm excited to go live with the music this summer. INALAB
has had two releases so far: Bonzo feat Julie Hill (Miami based
vocalist; link Bonzo), Illuminate feat Ujwal Nagar (of Advaita;
link: Illuminate)
What do you enjoy doing more and why? Touring and playing or
making your own music?
Both actually, but touring little more... I couldn't be happier
then when I'm on the road. The energy that I feel in front of
a live audience is incomparable. During the summers, when
touring takes a hit and although no touring feels okay for a bit,
because your body needs the rest, after a week or so, I feel the
need to be on the road again. The off season, however gives me
the time to finish a lot in the studio. And in fact, during a lot of
my studio takes I try and imagine a live audience as that helps
me deliver my best.
Elaborate on the Couch Potato Series
Couch Potato is a fan art series that I created in collaboration
with One Digital Entertainment and Crude'n'Cuddly. I love
writing background scores so we decided to regularly release
small animated videos based on our favourite TV series.
Once the score is complete, we collaborate with an artist to
interpret the visuals in their own way. It's essentially a way
of showing appreciation to the people who've created such
amazing content and familiarizing the audience with some
unconventional music that I'll be using for my live shows.
38
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
Narcos and Stranger Things have been inspirations for
previous releases.
You play with some of the leading acts in the country like
Parikrama. Tell us about your most favorite live experience?
It is quite an honour to be able to perform with such
illustrious acts and since they all play different genres (Rock,
Fusion and Bollywood) my experiences are rich and varied.
Being on stage with the mighty Parikrama is definitely on
the top of the list because the band's energy is infectious and
unlike anything that I had ever experienced before!
Although, the most fun I would have say is when I'm
performing with Aditi Singh Sharma because we've almost
grown up together, so besides just having a good time on stage,
the travel is a lot more relaxed and the band ends up staying
back a couple of days in our favourite places.
Your upcoming projects
Currently I'm working on finishing a song with Shubha
Mudgal ji. We've been working hard on this track and it’s
been quite a task to finish the track with all the travel, but
I'm extremely grateful to her for letting me feature her on an
INALAB single.
Another song that took us a while to finalise, features some
of the most talented artists from the Delhi scene, Suyash
Gabriel (Drums), Moulik Siddhart (Vocals) and Rahul Sainani
(Guitars). Apeksha Dandekar and I co-wrote a song about the
various atrocities women face in their daily lives.
Finally, since the last season of Game of Thrones is on its way,
we decided to dedicate the next 'Couch Potato' video on the
cult TV series. The song is called Mirage and it is by far the
grandest string section (sonically) I've worked on. Both the
tracks release this month.