It might be raining in a few parts of the country, but in the musical world of Pune-based guitarist Vinay Kaushal... everything is sunny.
His pop-inspired single, titled ‘Is It Sunny?’, released recently. “I’ve always been a fan of pop, both old and new. There is a certain charm to interesting pop music which I hear in so many of my favourites like Norah Jones and Tom Misch. Being able to blend pop with just a little bit of jazz was exciting and somehow didn’t feel alien to me,” says the musician.
Vinay Kaushal
The music video features Nupur Chaudhuri, India’s first pole athlete to win a medal in an international pole championship. “Pole dancing has had negative connotations attached to it for a long time,” explains Vinay, whose 2021 line-up includes a guitar-centric instrumental track. “What people don’t realise is the amount of work that goes into it and how physically strong you have to be. To be graceful while on the pole means that the dancer has to really work with their mind and body in unison.”
‘Is it Sunny?’ revolves around themes of love and longing. “The core idea came from the acoustic guitar progression I happened to stumble upon while playing one morning,” he recalls. “I instantly heard the chords reflect a very melancholic mood. Something about being locked down and not getting to meet your loved ones furthered the mood.” His wife, Uma, pitched in with the words and within a few hours, a musical idea was on.
But there was still a challenge at hand because Vinay is usually more inclined towards writing instrumental music. “I’ve rarely had to compose a vocal melody myself,” admits Vinay, whose début album ‘Naked on a Train’ in 2018 drew heavily from jazz, funk and Indian classical. “Composing the vocal melody was like a Eureka moment.”
He subsequently roped in Shakthisree Gopalan, a singer he greatly admires. “I was sure that no other singer would do the song justice,” he says, recalling how he was introduced to her music through a track titled ‘Voices’, and has been smitten ever since. Shakthi too describes her association with the track as “nothing short of a love affair”.
“My journey with this has been like falling head over heels from the very first listen, to discovering so many layers as I deep-dived into it,” she says. Shakthi and Vinay have met only once four years ago, and have collaborated for the first time on this track. “It is incredible how we live in a time when it is possible to create music and work on projects together without ever having to actually meet in person,” says Shakthi, whose voice has been heard in recent Tamil films like Ganesapuram , Kavalthurai Ungal Nanban and Dharala Prabhu . “I recorded the vocals at my home studio. Every time I sang, it felt like I discovered a new layer or a new door to express and explore the vocals with.”
‘Is it Sunny?’ is streaming on YouTube and other music platforms
