Young crooner Minal Mehta shares her experiences making her first track, 'Tu Hai Toh' 

Reaching the point of completion of one’s passion project would undoubtedly provide immense cathartics. The same goes for singer Minal Mehta. Talking to us about her journey Minal says, “There has been no better teacher than the struggle to be able to write an original.” The budding singer has garnered views in thousands within just a year of putting out covers of various hit Bollywood melodies.

We learn more about the singer as she retraces the steps that have led this passion project. While the crooner shares her experience writing the song, she also tells us about adding her skills on the piano to the track. We also learn of the role that RAAG, one of the leading bands in Chennai played in producing the song and helping the young singer and songwriter achieve her long-awaited dream. 
 

Also read: American singer Mary Millben sings 'Jana Gana Mana', touches PM Modi's feet

Excerpts from our chat:

Do tell us about Tu Hai Toh

Tu Hai Toh is a song about young love - the butterflies in the stomach, a sense of happiness and along with it the fear of losing that love. Everything that makes you love the person more. It is also about the changes this young love brings to one's life.

This is your first original song. what has the journey been like?

It's been seven years since I started learning music and I had never dreamt of becoming a singer or a songwriter. It started with my interest to learn how to sing and being fascinated by Bollywood music. In this journey, I touched upon ghazals to improve my sense of music. All this has led to this original song and this journey has been nothing short of a surreal experience.

What does singing mean to you?

Singing to me is a way of expressing myself. I'm a person who ends up spending my time joking around with family and friends even in serious situations. Singing has helped to convey emotions to the outside world and that's why singing for me is a way of expression.

Also read: American singer Nicole Scherzinger gets engaged to rugby player Thom Evans

What inspired you to take up songwriting?

The inspiration for my songwriting is my mentor. He always believed I could write original songs from the early days. He always pushed me to write something to help me develop a sense of expression through my writing. He was the one to believe that once we write a song, we will be able to appreciate/feel the emotion of the song which the writer wants to express even more.

Have you contributed with any instrument in this composition?

I've played the piano on the hook line. As this music came to the world when I was trying to make a tune for this song and randomly played the tune on my piano.

You deal with the topic of young love in this song, are there any personal observations that has enabled you to express its message more fluently?

The song is about the attachment young love brings into one's life. I firmly believe I would not be able to write about something which I couldn't personally relate to — as I said singing and songwriting have always been a way of expression for me.

Also read: EXCL: Singer KS Chithra opens up on her upcoming projects, why devotional songs are her forte and more

What was the process of producing and shooting the music video for the song like?

I had some ideas in my mind about how I wanted the video to look before shooting it. Acting, which is a very difficult job, is not my cup of tea. The process of shooting and acting was a new experience and I'm thrilled with the result.

Tell us about your experience with collaborating with the Members of RAAG.

I've known RAAG members for the past 7 years. RAAG is one of the leading bands in Chennai, yet they are the most humble people I've met. Always there to help and guide me and I'm lucky to have them help throughout my process.

How has their expertise helped amplify your talents further? 

As I mentioned before, RAAG, especially Pratap Sir is always ready to help. I've been learning how to sing from Pratap sir from the start and I'm incredibly thankful to him and the RAAG band for all the efforts they've put into bringing my First original out to the world.

Tu Hai Toh is streaming on YouTube and Spotify