Having started his career at the age of 16 as a playback singer in a Telugu film, Clinton Cerejo, has come a long way wearing several hats and has performed with aplomb in playback singing, arranging vocals and producing music for composers like A.R. Rahman and Vishal Bhardwaj. Making a mark in Bollywood with his popular song “Kya Karoon” in Wake Up Sid and “Sooraj Ki Baahon Me” in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara his recently released album “Ananthaal” won him iTunes Best Indie Pop Album 2015 .
Popular on alternative music platforms like Coke Studio where his song “Madaari” is a raving hit among the youngsters he is all set to make his debut as a music director in the upcoming musical Jugni slated to release early next year. “I always wanted to compose but I was waiting for the right time. What a creative person needs is freedom to experiment and work without any pressure. So, I think this was right point for me to be a music director as Shefali, the director, gave me all the freedom to do what I really wanted to,” says Clinton.
Edited excerpts from the interview
Tell us about your album “Ananthaal”. It has became iTune's best indie pop album from India of 2015…
The name ‘Ananthaal’ signifies infinite rhythm. So when we were jamming the music we were inspired by the the universal nature of music which is present all around us and the name of the album reflects what we had in our mind when we made the music. For our first video of Inayat song of the album, we chose to shoot in Leh, Ladakh to give it a picturesque view depicting God’s magnificent creation. A collaborated creation of Bianca Gomes, Vijay Prakash and me, it combined elements from different genres of music.
Does wearing different hats make you a better musician? How is wearing different hats? Does it make you better musician?
It is a good question. I think that you have to compartmentalise your skills and mental faculties. It is possible to approach different tasks of music production with same level of excellence. Experience plays a vital role in it as when you work with different forms and different music directors, it shapes your mind accordingly. Whatever role I play be it a singer or composer, I do not interfere in other department and try to do my level best to that thing which is assigned to me.
What have you created for “Jugni”?
It is a musical film with 12 songs, 11 of which have been composed by me and one has been sung by A.R. Rahman for his spiritual guru Kashif Sahab (Khwaja Mere Khwaja fame).
I am blessed and fortunate that the singers in the film are the best in the business and include Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Javed Bashir and A.R. Rahman.
We are creating different songs which have mainly have Sufi elements to which I have added some pop too like one of the song sung by Bianca Gomes with me “Haqmulla” which is a love song reflecting the meeting of two souls at a point of time when they are deeply immersed in each other.
What is the effect of collaboration on music?
I am always interested in bringing in unexpected elements into my music from wherever I can. So I wanted to do something which is unusual. For example, a Punjabi composer’s approach while giving music for a Punjabi film would be conventional and experiential while for me having grown up in a Church background, it was quite different and something untouched. The beauty of collaboration is that it brings out something fresh and new out of the conventional and this can be only done with inputs from different people.
How do you blend Sufi and pop?
Sufi is known largely for its lyrical content. I was always attracted towards the mysticism that is embedded in the Sufi music, which has links with Christianity too. As we were all brought up in Christian culture where we used to sing and play piano in church orchestra, I have influences of pop culture in my music.
