Meet Ritviz Srivastava who has created a buzz in the electronic music scene in the country and on the internet with his funky electronic dance music (EDM) tracks. The 22-year- old from Pune is trained in Hindustani Classical Music and has a passion for EDM and hip hop.
Ritviz who is currently touring the country will perform in the city at Lawson’s Lounge in The Gateway on March 16.
The artiste shot to fame after winning the Bacardi House Party sessions last year. His track ‘Udd Gaye’, a lyrical fusion of Indian and electronic music became the new party anthem.
“ I wasn’t expecting any of it. While sending the application to Bacardi House Party guys it was one of those ‘lets-see-what-happens’ kind of a situation. Even after winning the session, I wasn’t expecting the kind of overwhelming response I received from the public,” he says.
After ‘Udd Gaye’ the artiste has released ‘Barso’, ‘Jeet’ and ‘Ved’. He agrees that the immense popularity of the first song pressurised him to perform better.
- March 16 Lawson’s Lounge, Visakhapatnam
- March 21 Holi District, Mumbai
- March 23 XU Club, Bengaluru
- March 29 Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani
“Of course I was aware of the kind of expectations people had from me. However, I cannot make music just for the heck of it. The music I make comes organically to me. The day I bother about producing hits and following a certain format is the day I wouldn't be true to myself,” he says.
The AR Rahman fan believes that EDM will change immensely in the next five years. “ Independent music composers are going to play a very important role in the future days.”
Ritviz owes his success in music to his training in Hindustani classical music. “For years I have woken up to the sound of my mother’s riyaz. I learnt to sing Khayal from my mother at the age of six and moved on to train under Pandit Uday Bhawalkar for Dhrupad,”he says. Ritviz composed his first song at the age of 10.
- Ritviz has over 1.3 lakh followers on YouTube
- ‘Udd Gaye’ that released in November 2017 has over 28 million views
- ‘Jeet’ released in December 2018 has over 3 million views
- ‘Barso’ released in December 2018 has over a million views
- ‘Ved’ released in February 2019 has over half a million views
Then in his early teens he was drawn to hip and hop. “Like most of the teens of my generation, I was introduced to western music through Vh1. I was so intrigued by the genre that I started blending hip hop and pop music in my songs which had a classical base”. In fact Ritviz’s bass-heavy tracks are generously peppered with Hindustani Classical music.
The musician is currently working on his debut album titled Ved that will have eight of his compositions. It is expected to be out in May.
