MUMBAI: Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Tejas, recognised as one of India’s favourite pop voices, revisits his first-ever EP Small Victories to mark completing a decade in the industry. Remastered and re-issued with the addition of new songs, the album Small Victories released on November 15.
Listen to ‘Small Victories’ here
The original EP – released on November 5, 2014 – had five tracks including Tejas’ breakthrough song ‘Brave’. Now the tracklist has expanded to include three additional songs, including a new title track, and the first song he ever wrote, ‘See You Tonight’.
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“A decade is a long time in today’s world as an independent artist which is why I decided to honour my first release by remastering it and re-issuing it for fans and friends alike,” says Tejas about his reason to re-release his debut EP. “You have a love for your first release because it started it all, you’ve wrestled with it because of the cringe-element of looking back on your younger self and all the mistakes and bold statements you made at the time, not really knowing what’s going to happen next,” he adds.
Over the past 10 years, Tejas, and his band, have cycled through various genres and subgenres – from classic pop rock arrangements, to electronica, to hard rock, and disco, funk – for each release. His writing and sound has evolved but the decision to reissue the EP prompted him to revisit his earliest work and he found some songs that he could give a home to now.
“Our sound and my writing has evolved since 2014, has broadly been in the same pop rock space but I think the themes have been consistent,” he says. “The additions to the record were a couple of old songs from that era that fit the sonic and thematic space that I’ve never found a home for prior. The original songs are still good songs to listen to, and hark back to an earlier modern pop rock era, which does not have too many sanitized production elements. I never had a good enough opportunity to release songs like ‘Stationary’ and ‘See You Tonight’ the latter of which is the first song I ever wrote.
“As for Small Victories the song, it was written as a small thank you to my closest friends and supporters who have really yanked me by the scruff of my neck and taken me across several finish lines and milestones over the years,” he reveals.
Apart from the re-release, Tejas is also planning to make CDs as a tangible keepsake, alongside an hour-long interview with the whole band that featured on the original recording, for long-time supporters. “I’m also releasing an hour long interview with the whole band that featured on the recording, including Adil Kurwa, Jehangir Jehangir, Krish Makhija (my manager at the time) and Aalok Padhye, who played on the first record and is still a very close friend,” he says, adding, “We recapped the time we recorded the album and spoke about how fun the process was for us, plus some fun little anecdotes.”
Apart from Small Victories, Tejas is also working on releasing a full-length album Museum next year.
