A sweet folk-inspired serenade to a loved one, the sun-kissed track is sonically light-hearted, while the subject matter charts the agony and ecstasy of uncertain young love — innocence tempered by experience.
— A write-up in Billboard in August on the song I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll
The song is a bubbling, infectious two minutes and 41 seconds about homesickness, and finding the beauty in pain.
— USA Today wrote on September 16 about the “bright” new track, Newbury St.
BOYS FROM BALLYGUNGE CIRCULAR ROAD
Jivraj Singh, 29
School: La Martiniere for Boys and Cambridge International School
College: St. Xavier’s College
Residency: Red Bull Music Academy (Madrid, 2011)
Discography: Ocean, //, Quirkwork, The Dance of the Diaspora, Ambiance de Danse, EP1
Also affiliated with: PINKNOISE, Perfectiming, Solar Plectrum with Amyt Datta, Skinny Alley
Nischay Parekh, 23
School: La Martiniere for Boys
Higher studies: Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts
Residency: Red Bull Music Academy (Tokyo, 2014)
Discography: Ocean, //
Also affiliated with: The Monkey In Me
Two super-talented individuals sharing a tight space has resulted in some of the best duos in music history — The Black Keys, The Everly Brothers, Ike & Tina Turner and, of course, Simon & Garfunkel. One such great musical collaboration has been unfolding in our very own backyard for sometime… a collaboration that channels this yin-yang philosophy to create a perfect whole. They are called Parekh & Singh or the duo of Nischay Parekh and Jivraj Singh, who lend quietude to a time when popular music and sameness of EDM have become synonymous.
The two Ballygunge boys met “through common musical friends” and have since been creating music rooted in storytelling. And that has been enough to land them a five-record deal with London-based Peacefrog Records, which has musicians and acts like Jose Gonzalez and Little Dragon on its catalogue.
Ahead of the re-release of Ocean from Peacefrog (the original India release was in 2013) on October 28 (in the US and the UK), the 23-year-old vocalist (Nischay) and 29-year-old percussionist (Jivraj) tell t2 about what makes their music personal yet universal; playful but brings back experiences.
There was a write-up on the two of you in Billboard. How important a milestone is this?
It was a tipping point for sure. It’s amazing that people in the West are actually giving us a shot to be talked about and discussed on the same level as musicians from their own part of the world.
How did your five-album deal with Peacefrog Records come about?
It was very lucky and direct. We simply sent them a demo over an email that was listed on their website. There were no references or solicited introductions.
Power of Three
Five-album deal calls for a lot of material!
Luckily, we have material for almost three full albums and (including Ocean), so we’re pretty set in terms of musical content. Now it’s a question of exploring these songs and producing them and evolving as a band.
With Ocean being re-released in the UK and the US, what’s a bigger challenge — staying away from the cliches of Indian popular music or not giving into the gimmicks of the international music industry?
We don’t really understand cliches or gimmicks well enough to utilise them to our advantage. We do what we do, and we hear what we hear. The way we make music is pretty disconnected from trends or well-known practices, for us it’s always about a narrative and a full picture.
Are you looking forward to Ocean on vinyl? Is that a big high?
It’s very gratifying that some Indian home-recorded music is going to press on to vinyl. Jivraj’s parents (Jayashree Singh and late Gyan Singh) have an extensive record collection. However, we are cassette kids… missed the golden era of listening to LPs and enjoying truly analogue audio. For us, it’s all just an MP3 or WAV file now.
Will the second album for Peacefrog be // (two forward slashes)? Are we looking at any changes to it before the
re-release?
We’re not sure if there will be any changes, the label liked the music as it is. However, no one really knows about the future.
The music of Parekh & Singh is very personal — it makes one feel happy; makes one think. How would you define your music?
I think that’s a very good definition, it’s personal. Personal not just in terms of lyrical content, but in the style in which we present it. This music is who we are and it is made of the things that we like in terms of aesthetics — symmetry, studied playfulness and stories.
NISCHAY: the song’s story
Ocean: This was actually written for someone I was in a relationship with at the time, just before I left for Boston.
Newbury St.: This was about me coming to grips with a new life and city.
Panda: The idea of an afterlife, the most obviously Indian thing I’ve written about.
I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll: A slightly pessimistic and altruistic confession to my girlfriend at the time, signalling the end.
Sunbeam: I’m a bit of a hypochondriac. This song was my attempt at building inner strength and immunising my spirit.
But what is the thing that gets Parekh & Singh’s creative process started?
It’s usually a song that I (Nischay) write. I bring it in to rehearsal and we hash it out, break it down and build from the ground up.
Is there a point at which you let go in the collaboration? Each of your egos have to retreat for a collaboration to be successful.
I think ego is something that is yet to invade our friendship. Our art really is based in our friendship and trust in one another. We’re totally candid and open with each other; there are no boundaries really.
Your songs don’t have any sort of exploitative sexual imagery, the stuff in most new songs. Any reason you want to steer clear of this path?
It’s not been a conscious decision lyrically. I (Nischay) haven’t yet been inspired to address sex in a blatant manner, perhaps someday I’ll find an artful way to do it. We don’t want to steer clear of any path… we hope we can explore them all before we’re done.
Okay, trying to picture Nischay Parekh and Jivraj Singh asking two normal girls out on a date. Are you scared they might end up asking you to sing all night?
I don’t think that’s a scary proposition, things could be much worse than singing all night surely!
Coming back to music, have you ever been disappointed by the reaction to your songs... you know that dull look in the audience’s eyes?
I think every performer needs to deal with rejection at many points and in many different forms. We choose to deal with it through self-deprecation and humour more than anything else. Hate to take ourselves too seriously.
The pictures you have been posting on your Facebook page. Tell us about it.
It’s simply an aesthetic that we have collectively arrived on as a team, the label and us. We wanted to commit to a strong and definitive image. The suits tie in well with our music and who we are.
Finally, what’s a day in the life like, besides making music?
These days it’s a lot of social media, connecting and planning the road ahead. We are currently planning multiple music videos.
Parekh & Singh are Calcutta’s best because.... Tell t2@abp.in
