Arjun Nair, vocalist, voice artist and entrepreneur is a man who lives, eats and breathes music. He is also a member of two bands – ‘Rang’ and ‘Voctronica.’ To keep alive his passion for music, the artist has also juggled with alternative careers in the past. However, he has never kept his first love music behind him, even if it meant working around the clock. Today he is the most talked about man courtesy All India Bakchod (AIB). Nair gave vocals to the ‘AIB: Every Bollywood Party Song.’
In conversation with Radioanadmusic.com, Nair talks about his association with AIB, Voctronica, Rang and his company ‘Aur Maango Productions.’ Read on…
Related Post
The AIB song has been the talk of the town ever since it went online. Your comment.
I am glad that AIB and Irrfan (Khan) are getting the attention. It’s a highlight on what’s exactly going on in a party song. With such good lyrics and Irrfan in the video, people are responding well to it. It has already crossed 5 million views and it was expected with their reputation of pushing numbers, for their content is always good.
How did you bag the song?
Tanmay and I were acquaintances during college. In fact, Voctronica and AIB also came together for ‘A Tribute To Classic Indian Ads.’ The video was an amalgamation of all classic ads.
In general Tanmay is a great ideator and AIB wanted to do an honest series on party songs. Hence, they approached me in capacity of someone who can capture the essence of the original song. So, this song is more of a voice artist job than a singing job for me. We started working on this from January -February and recorded it a couple of months before its release.
Has the ‘Party Song’ got you more music offers?
The party song has not really translated into any major offers. However, it has added more visibility for me as an artist.
What is Voctronica doing at the moment? Any new projects?
We are working on our next release; it’s a big concept and we are really kicked about it. Through the band, we are also exploring the new form and style of making music vocally. So, I am happy about what’s happening with Voctronica.
A few months ago Meghana Bhogle was asked to move out of the band. Would you like to through some light on the issue?
We do not believe in talking about this topic but, what goes around in public is for them to decipher. This is a band matter. I believe that it is always up to an individual member of a band to choose, to grow from what they are being offered, or choose to go another way. So, Voctronica is now a five-piece band, and it is all that matters.
How can one sort issues in a band?
Issues do crop up in bands and people have to figure it out as a family. So, there are times when a band member says ‘maybe it’s not cut out for me’ and there are times when the band sits down and says ‘hey this is not cut out for you.’ But, I believe that things go right when your passion and drive for music is in place and your intent is genuine. That way you will always be a contributing member of a band, which is something that I have always made a point to be, no matter how demanding my work schedules are. When you are a part of a band you have to display passion and your drive for music through your actions and rest automatically aliens its self.
How is Rang doing?
Rang is a Hindi, multi genre, six set-up band that has completed five years. Currently, we have a new line-up as a lot of people left for either education or moved out of town. But, we are back in the market after a five month sabbatical. We recently also performed at Blue Frog.
Why did ‘Rang’ go on a sabbatical?
Actually, we were busy working on our debut album and it’s almost ready. It is a different approach to Hindi music and does not go anywhere close to the sufi or Atif Aslam space. We have also tried to write some good lyrics for this album. This will be our attempt to connect with audience across all age groups. I just hope people respond to it in a good way.
Tell us a bit about your production house.
‘Aur Maango Productions’ is a joint effort between Aniket Mangrulkar and me. He has been a vocalist for Zodiac/Artshop. We work on music for ads. Currently we are doing a lot of corporate videos and also working on radio campaigns. We are still at the roll out phase as our company is just a year old.
Did you wish to be a part of NH7 this year?
This year I will be attending the festival but not participating. That said, it’s a great platform for a lot of musicians. Last year Voctronica got to perform at NH7 under the Redbull Bus. We had a slot at 4 pm but we managed to get the crowd. It was a lot of fun.
Which other festivals would you like to be a part of?
Without being specific to a band, I would like to be a part of the Ziro Festival. I have heard a lot about ‘Ziro’ and something tells me that I will enjoy it a lot. There are also some great festivals in Bhutan. I would like to be a part of most of them as it’s always exciting to go and present your work in a fest. The crowd lets you know if you are good or not.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I would like to be someone who is putting out a lot of good work within the music space. Hopefully, I will be someone who has also gained some sort of momentum with respect to what people are accepting. I would like to think that there will be no limitation in terms of film, underground and independent music. And when people figure out who I am, they might smile and say ‘we are ok with him doing what he is doing.’ Even if they don’t, I will be happy doing music, so I will sleep well at nights (smiles).
