Inspired by Avicii, teenage composer belts out melodies for EDM circuit

Chennai: Yaad is the young composer’s third single from his album Zindagi. Opening up on the melody number, Rishi, who is just 15, says, “Yaad is inspired by Avicii’s track - Heaven. Electronic Dance Music (EDM) songs laden with emotions, are yet to become a trend in India, and I wanted to bring that characteristic of Avicii’s music to my compositions. Yaad is about a woman mourning her partner’s loss. I thought I could compose it as an EDM track as the combination is that of an emotional melody coupled with electronic elements. It has the potential to strike the right chord in the heart. I came up with the chord progression while randomly playing the piano, and the melody just followed in an organic manner,” Rishi tells DTNext.

Yaad was released with an animated music video like Rishi’s previous work Mere Ho Tum. “It can be a great music video and we are currently on the lookout for a producer. Indie music has grown, and the scene is quite encouraging for aspiring composers as the competition helps bring out the best in us. We ourselves can compose-produce music that we like, which has resulted in innovations and experimentations,” he adds.

Yaad is crooned by Gowri TP, who rose to fame with a reality TV show and went on to sing for Govind Vasantha in 96. “Gowri had used my Naan Pizhai instrumental for her cover and posted it on Instagram as a reel that has over 3 mn views, and tagged me. While scouting for singers online, I listened to Gowri’s cover and was floored by her voice. I asked her if she could sing my next song and she did. Gowri is based in Thiruvananthapuram, so the entire recording was virtual. Akhil Sharma who penned the lyrics for my previous songs (Jee Le Zindagi and Mere Ho Tum) is the lyricist as well,” he says.

With a loyal fan base in Tamil Nadu, Rishi divulges that he is working on Tamil songs next. “In fact, two Tamil songs are in the recording stage (Tamil versions of Mere Ho Tum and Yaad). We hope to release them within the next couple of months,” he concludes.