On World Music Day MTV is hosting a special show titled Dekhiye World Music Day Carnival. The two-day marathon show features well-known names from India's music industry such as Nikhita Gandhi, Dee MC, Shashaa Tirupathi and others. Prateek Gandhi and Shilpa Rao who are also part of the line-up talk to Indulge about their musical journey.
What are your earliest memories of listening to music?
Shilpa Rao: Growing up in Jamshedpur, my father would start the day with music and he would usually play Khayal by Amir Khan saab and recital by U. Srinivas. The first memory of my brother and I was that. In the morning he would put on a tape and we would listen to it and even before going to sleep, we would do the same.
Prateek Gandhi: It was during my college days, during graduation where I saw college artistes carrying guitars, singing in the park, and enjoying. I discovered that music was my actual escape, so I started getting attracted towards music.
Who inspired you to take up music as a career?
SR: There’s a lot of people who inspired me. Hariharan ji was the reason I chose music as a profession and Shankar (Mahadevan) sir inspired me to come to Mumbai because he said that I have to be here to make it work.
PG: My own life pattern inspired me to take this as a full-time career.
What kind of music have you grown up listening to?
SR: As a kid, a lot of Indian classical was played at home and my brother was learning piano, so I listened to Indian as well as Western Classical Music. It was the best of both worlds. Post that of course in school and college I had started to listen to all kinds of music. I think right now I listen to everything. I don’t have a fixed genre or I am not very close minded about it. If I like a piece of music, I listen to it.
PG: I used to listen to a lot of Sufi and rock band indie music, as well as some international rock and metal artists then I slowly got attracted to electronic music as well.
What genre did you relate to the most when you were experimenting and learning?
SR: When I was learning, obviously my first love was ghazal, that still is. It will be the closest to my heart.
PG: I experiment with almost all genres but one thing I have never stopped doing experimenting with guitars.
Which have been the most memorable tracks that you have sung/worked on? And which have been the most challenging and why?
SR: Tose Naina would always be close to my heart because it was my first song. It sort of became my identity, with my fans, with people who love my music. The challenging tracks were Bulleya, Kalank, Mudi Mudi. I think when you try something new, it is very challenging and I like that thrill of trying something new.
PG: A challenging track was the World Cup anthem 2019 Tum Khelo Dum Se. It was difficult because it’s for the common people out there, those who love cricket and idolize cricketers. Composing the track and singing it was challenging.
What are your thoughts on remixes in Bollywood?
SR: I feel we should make new music because there is so much talent all across india. We have great composers, writers, singers, instrument players and producers. So, I feel that we need to focus that energy into making new music and I totally stand by that.
What are you working on next?
SR: There are lots actually, there is a lot of film music, there is a lot of independent music that is going to be released very soon and I hope that people are gonna like it.