MUMBAI: Dehi is an ode to the soul which, “unlike our body (Deha) is eternal. It is the energy that unites humans and is a theory that allows you to live an afterlife. It is a song that celebrates a world where humanity is our only religion” explains the songwriter, Tanay Shah.
The genesis of their debut was interestingly on a random rainy afternoon when Abhishek V. the vocalist and Ritik Mehta, the producer; in their true Gen-Z spirit began brainstorming ideas to create content for the new ‘Reels’ feature on Instagram.
“I gave Abhishek, Devdutt Patnayak’s Bhagavad Gita – a book I was intrigued by and asked him to pick a random word from any random page. He landed on the word Dehi and took an ‘Aalap’ on the two notes I was playing on the electric piano” elaborates Ritik.
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They ended up releasing that reel which later, became the chorus of the main song. Consumed by many different ideas and songs, the trio resoundingly agreed with Dehi to be that one song that truly encapsulated and represented the sound and spirit of their band.
In a world struck by the pandemic, the music industry suffered significantly; especially the independent artists and bands which was an obstacle faced by Inayat as well. “The entire experience was nerve-wracking; to go ahead with an original considering the circumstances – being self-funded, recording whilst abiding by the government regulations and much more fell short of our otherwise ambitious dreams for the first single” shares Abhishek.
However, the band’s passion and love for music fueled their resilience to work even harder with the resources available, to finally share the song from, “our dehi to yours” as they say.
Inayat worked with a Chennai based illustrator, Jyotsna Ravi for the track’s artwork; a fine blend of abstraction and realism which reflects the mystifying yet enigmatic energy of our soul. “The artwork is inspired by the sheer beauty, elegance and virtue of Indian women. Akin to the song, the artwork was also inspired by the Bhagavad Gita, as the main subject of the art and the song, finds its soul between the holy pages” shares Jyotsna.
Dehi released on 27th June, 2021 and is available on Spotify, YouTube and across all other online streaming platforms. The song crossed 1k+ streams within 24 hours.
