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| (L-R) Dylan Varner-Hartley, Nischay and Jivraj ‘Jiver’ Singh. Picture: Naman Saraiya |
His music was recently written about in The Guardian. His new album, Ocean, has been produced by the celebrated Miti Adhikari (the recording engineer who has worked at the legendary BBC Maida Vale Studios and has worked with Blur, Coldplay and Radiohead). His album features ace drummer Jivraj ‘Jiver’ Singh and two talented musicians he met while studying at Berklee College of Music in Boston –– Dylan Varner-Hartley and Pedro Zappa.
Earlier this year, he and Jivraj had opened for Norah Jones at A Summer’s Day festival in Mumbai.
Want to hear him? He will perform at Bacardi NH7 Weekender (December 15; MTS Other Stage). Meanwhile, here’s a t2 chat with the very talented Nischay Parekh.
What was the starting point for Ocean?
Ocean began as a series of demos that I would record. There was a phase last year when I was recording ideas constantly. A large amount of material evolved into Ocean.
How did you get Miti Adhikari involved as producer and what has he brought to the sound of Ocean?
Miti has been amazing to work with. In the process I have learned what it means to make an album of coherent and meaningful music. He’s also been a collaborator in the truest sense of the word; lots of creative input came in from him. It was also encouraging to see him so deeply invested and expressive about the album of a 19/20-year-old upstart from Calcutta. He really brought out the best in me on this album –– I was inspired to give him the best guitar and vocal recordings, nothing less would have been worth his while.
Walk us through Ocean... what is the music like?
Ocean is an experimental pop album filled with playful orchestration and cinematic moments. In terms of sound it is very lush and I’m very proud of the production. The songs themselves are about relationships, longing and other very universal themes. However, I enjoy making these larger-than-life themes very intimate; that’s why you’ll find pandas, ghosts and secrets in my Ocean.
First albums always turn out to be personal. In what ways is this true for Ocean?
It’s a summation of everything that has influenced me in my life. A first album is always interesting because it’s essentially an introduction. It’s me saying hello.
Do you ever feel anxious to put out something personal?
There’s no anxiety. In fact, I feel a sense of relief when these thoughts are out there, so I can begin dreaming up the next step. There are a lot of things said on this album that involve me and people in my life. However, I think the songs end up offering my world a certain level of finality and closure. I am now free to move on and imagine different things.
You’ve created some interesting artwork for the album. Tell us the idea behind it.
The artwork has been designed by Yashasvi Mathis from Mumbai. I urged her not to use any human images and to keep everything symmetrical and even. This is a representation of the music, because it’s very balanced, nothing is too loud or over expressive –– everything sits in its place. I also love writing songs with animals in them and I wanted the artwork to be mystical as well.
Ocean wasn’t recorded in a regular studio. Why is that?
I wanted this to be a very relaxed album. I wanted all the performances to seem comfortable. I love staying at home almost all day and I felt recording most of my album inside homes would bring about a sense of warmth and comfort in the music. This isn’t an aggressive album, neither was the recording process. The entire album was put together in homes –– mostly bedrooms. Technology allows us this luxury.
How do you usually go about the composing process?
It’s not very structured. Usually the harmony or chords come first, rarely it’ll be a melody. It’s usually just acoustic guitar or piano that plants the seed of the song. I need other elements to inform the world though, so I’m not sure that anything is happening until there’s a groove, a specific idea or maybe even some electronic samples.
Who were your influences, how did you develop your sound?
I grew up on The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Frank Sinatra –– all members of my mother’s cassette collection. I didn’t really consciously think of my sound till it was almost fully formed. I was and still am obsessed with the craft of songwriting and I think my sound and my style are all efforts to stay out of the song’s way.
Did you ever have an experience that steered you towards music?
I can’t think of a single incident. It was a gradual process of me falling in love with great artistes and this magic trick where you create a song out of nothing.
Meanwhile, your journey at Berklee College of Music continues. What changes do you see thanks to Berklee?
I understand the mechanics of music now. Berklee has shown me to strip music of all its mystery and secrecy and analyse it mathematically almost. I’m glad I can do this, it allows me to make it even more mysterious.
The music scene keeps changing. In the last decade hip hop and EDM have become major aspects of music festivals. Do you feel this has affected musicians in other genres?
I think everyone has to stay relevant, genre doesn’t really matter as long as you have something to say and are articulate enough to say it well.
What would you say has been your most memorable achievement so far?
Every day is an achievement for me when I see the number of plays on my SoundCloud page or get emails and Facebook messages from people telling me how much my music means to them. The fact that my music is a part of peoples’ lives is the achievement.
You pay particular attention to your live gigs with the band and how an audience consumes your music live. Could you explain that to us?
The way we set up on stage is unique to say the least. It’s a trio –– all of us have our own stations where we play more than one instrument. Jivraj (Singh) plays his own re-imagined drum kit. He stands up, just like Dylan (Varner-Hartley) and myself. Attire-wise we try to keep things colourful and comforting. I feel the visual element forms my music in a big way. We’re also looking to do some interesting things with lighting design at the Weekenders. All our instruments and effects are interconnected so each member has access to the whole sound of the band and can sculpt it on the fly. This keeps things spontaneous and organic.
So, how does it feel when your songs are played on the radio?
It’s always a surreal feeling. I can’t really process the value of my music floating through frequencies that can be tuned into by all the people that live in my country. It’s bigger than me.
Finally, you had an outstanding outing at Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune. Since you are playing all four editions of the festival, how do you plan to make the Calcutta set exciting and different?
The live experience at Bacardi NH7 Weekender will be intimate, interactive and full of colour. Our mission is to create a very special experience for everyone. Immersing people into the story that music is telling is of prime importance. The festival in Pune was a very special show, our audience was engaged and that’s all a performer can ask for. Our set at the festival in Calcutta will probably have a few changes in terms of the setlist but I think we’ve stumbled upon the general model of how our festival set should be so I hope it turns out to be similar to our set in Pune in some ways. We’ll have some surprises for Calcutta in store for sure though, it’s home after all.
KNOW Nischay
Date of Birth: February 26, 1993
Lives in: Ballygunge Circular Road
School: La Martiniere for Boys
College: Berklee College of Music, Boston
Debut album: Ocean
Genre: Indie-pop
Other project: Monkey In Me
For information and tickets visit NH7.in/weekender. You can book tickets at indianstage.in or ‘dial a ticket’ at +919243777970 or +919674211388. Season ticket: Rs 1,750. Single day ticket: Rs 1,000. Under 21 season ticket: Rs 1,000
