Dream pop duo Parekh and Singh shocked fans when they announced yesterday that they had cancelled the rest of their shows from the Science City Tour. The Kolkatta-based band was expected to perform in Bengaluru today.
Earlier today, Nischay Parekh put out a statement with regards to the reason for the cancellation. In an Instagram post, the singer detailed his long-standing battle with anxiety, stress and more recently, depression.
Read his complete statement here:
I've been performing music on some sort of a stage since the age of 16. Even though I'm only 26, that amounts to a decade of performance. There have been extreme highs, thanks to a very supportive base of fans over the years. However, another common thread has been anxiety, stress, and recently, depression. I've been a natural performer and while I know that many live performers suffer from performance anxiety, mine just seemed to evolve and grow as the years went by. Added logistical challenges on this tour and the prospect of playing 'big' shows (as big as we've ever planned) pushed me over the edge. I lost all the joy and comfort I could always find in our music. I've had a long relationship with generalized anxiety, and I feel like I'll have to take a step back from music and work on living life without stress (as much as possible). Perhaps I'm not supposed to be a live performer. I was afraid of that prospect earlier - now I'm more open to accepting it. I felt like I owed all of you some sort of an explanation. This might not be the best one - but it's all I have right now. Thanks for your time and all your support so far."
-Nischay