Chart-topping musician Vineet Singh Hukmani dropped his latest album last week. Titled Nine, the album is also accompanied by an anthology of nine short stories tackling different subjects. "I was craving to tell stories that were inspired by the music," the artiste tells us about why he decided to make the album a full immersive experience. In an interview with Indulge he tells us more about his songwriting process, and his inspirations:
How did you get the idea to combine literature with your music?
The process of song creation is a very cinematic one in a composer’s mind. I always felt a little anxious, almost incomplete whenever a song was done. It was then that I realised that I was craving to tell stories that were inspired by the music. My favourite genre of movies is ‘action and adventure’ and that inspired me to write nine thrilling stories to the nine songs I had done in the album. The stories are fictitious action/adventure situations and not literal to the songs, but the core essence is the same. I felt a person reading a story and then listening to the corresponding song would make a delightful immersive experience. I wrote the kind of stories I would enjoy watching as a movie buff and the ideas just flowed. In seven months I had a book and album ready. QR codes at the end of each story in the book allow readers to listen to the song from the book itself!
Who are some of your inspirations?
In music, I admire Sting for his songs as they create a visual grammar. Among the new lot, Bruno Mars, Adele and Drake have the same quality. Hans Zimmer’s background scores are a rapturous delight to me! To be honest I really don’t have any idols in writing but my cinematic inspiration which drives my writing is from global movie directors like James Cameron, Anthony and Joe Russo, Taika Waititi, Kathryn Bigalow, Antoine Fuqua and directors like Aditya Dhar, Shoojit Sarcar, Zoya Akhtar, Behzad Khambata and Rajkumar Hirani in India. I think there is a lot of ‘new age’ writing happening and film directors are looking for new age stories. I write for the cinema within my mind and I hope the popular genre of action and adventure connects with the minds of readers and people who love to listen to upbeat optimistic music.
Expand on some of the themes of the stories and songs.
I have enjoyed writing all of the nine stories and as each story began to find footing in my songs it was an overwhelming experience. Let’s take the lead single from the book and album - Nine. It is about a father and husband who’s sense of duty to the country keeps him away from his family to the point where his family resents him. However when they are in danger he comes back to protect them. I feel that essence of a provider in real life and I translated that into a song and story. My song and story I Pray is about a turbulent flight in trouble and how the power of prayer is tested. I am a nervous flyer so I identify with it very strongly. There are stories about love in the digital age, or crypto currency heists, murders happening on Zoom calls and genetically engineered athletes competing in races, all of which found foundation in the songs I had created. Again each story is written to the genre of films I enjoy watching.
Which is your personal favourite track and why?
My favourite is the lead single Nine. It captures the essence of what I want to convey to my family as a provider. The lyrics ‘Nine times out of 10 I’ll be there for you, the only other time, I’ll be thinking of you’ is what I feel everyday. I think it connects with anyone who wants to be there for their loved ones. I also like Turning Back Time as our memories are a great place to hide, when the present is challenging. The story of the same has hilarious twists about a man who connects himself to a digital device to remain in his fond memories and his family and friends try to do insane things to bring him back to the present.
What was the music making process like?
My process of creation is defined by a discipline that has been instilled in me by my global agent, Martin Langford. The aim is for the songs to be well accepted on global radio stations, the primary medium of discovery of music! The first thing I do is identify a clear genre of music. So it has to be pop 40, hip-hop, adult contemporary, rock or funk - exactly the way global radio stations are classified. I then work on a theme and a chorus of the song such that it has huge repeat listening value, which is critical for radio stations to accept music. I then work the rest of the song around this chorus. I normally write the final lyrics in the end as the mood and musical emotion of the song is already created and so it is now easy to fit words to the situation. There is no right or wrong way as long as one follows a discipline to achieve what is needed to abide by the commercial rules of the game. This approach has what has helped me achieve the feat of being the first artiste in the world to hold nine number one positions in the European Indie top 100 charts and I was awarded a world record gold disc by the EIMC ( European Indie Music Commission) and MEI Indipendenti, for the same in January 2022.
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