“Just for three days,” Vivek Verma told his mother, before leaving home in Kolkata to perform with singer Shaan at a show in Mumbai. In fact, the talented musician stayed back for four years as he found his calling in the maximum city with opportunities beckoning on the horizon. “Most music productions need guitarists and I found interesting work with them,” says Vivek. Having been introduced to Himesh Reshammiya, Vivek joined his team, assisting him in films like Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, Khiladi 786, The Expose, All Is Well, Action Jackson and Sanam Teri Kasam .
Working in recording studios and watching scores of budding musicians all around him made Vivek realise that there’s a world beyond Bollywood music. So he ventured into Indie music and released two albums Humsafar and Mai Aur Tu , which found acceptance, specially among young listeners. “I have also released EPs and have several single songs in the pipeline with music labels like Zee Music, Saregama and Sony Music India,” informs Vivek.
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Romantic moments
However, what caught the netizens’ eye recently is the teaser, on YouTube, of his forthcoming single called ‘Aashiyana’. “I had composed this in 2019 and while making it, I had to keep in mind that a majority of my listeners are teenagers or college students. ‘Aashiyaana’ is a romantic unplugged number with a cute animated love story, where a guy dedicates the song to his girl recalling the moments when she has helped and supported him during the struggling days of his career.”
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Keeping the mood of the subject in mind, Vivek used acoustic guitar as the main sound of the track, and plans to release the song as soon as the lockdown ends.
Vivek has fused Indian classical music with electronic music in his compositions with a confidence that comes from his training in Indian and western classical music. “In my initial days I started learning from Anil Acharya and Sanjeev Mukherjee of Punjab gharana and Pt Rakesh Parihast (disciple of tabla maestro Alla Rakha) in my hometown New Kenda (on the outskirts of Kolkata). Later, after schooling, I went to Banares to learn other forms of Khayal Gayaki from Pt Mahadev Mishra’s son Pt Ganesh Prasad Mishra. Later, fortunately, after moving to Mumbai, I got to learn for a couple of months from Kishori Tai (Kishori Amonkar),” informs Vivek.
Fresh soundscape
The classical training lends depth to his vocals and his soulful tone has a quiet charm. Yet, Vivek is keen to focus on composing than singing. “When you compose, it’s your baby and you get more satisfaction,” says Vivek who’s enamoured with works of music directors like S S Thaman and Anirudh Ravichander in the south. “The fresh sounds used here remind you of Hollywood music. I’m in awe of the way the music has evolved in the south,” gushes Vivek and says it’ll be an honour to work with any of them. He cherishes collaborating with singer Hariharan earlier on in his career.
With much of the lockdown time being spent in writing and meditating, Vivek looks forward to the launch of ‘Aashiyana’ on his YouTube channel.