Singer Shaan speaks about his upcoming release, Dil Uddeya

Singer Shaan, known for always reinventing and experimenting with his music will come out with a single, Dil Uddeya. The musician calls this track a ‘cheerful dance number’ that is connected to nature and finding happiness. He collaborated with Unoosha, a singer and songwriter from the Maldives. She rose to fame with tracks such as The Maldives Song, Hey Walla, and Thari. In a candid chat, he speaks about the track, working on the reggae genre, and trying to rap in the Maldivian language. Excerpts:

What went into the making of the song?

Dil Uddeya is a song about finding one’s ‘happy space.’ It is about living in the moment and the vibe of it makes you want to never stop dancing. It also happens to be my first collaboration with the Maldives-based singer Unoosha.

We mostly used Hindi lyrics for the song along with a few lines in Punjabi. Rajesh Manthan, our lyricist presented the beauty of nature and free-spiritedness through the choruses. You can also find elements of rap in the Maldives’ local lingo written by Unoosha.

What are the instruments used?

It is like a dance track, but not your regular club song. In this reggae pop sub-genre, we used several instruments like flute, guitar, and Boduberu (Maldivian drums).

Tell us about the music video.

It was shot exclusively in the Maldives at Hard Rock Hotel. We got a chance to work with the local talent from the islands. It was also great fun shooting with Unoosha.

What was the working experience like with Unoosha?

She is a fabulous musician. I was super impressed with her body of work when I discovered her. She also dubbed for her part in Hindi and Urdu, which can get quite difficult as it was not her spoken language. She was also quite helpful and she helped me get some of my rap lines in the song perfect.

Is there a genre of music you still haven’t tried yet?

I suppose I never tried anything in pure Indian classical and Opera.

Your opinion on the rise of indie music in the country?

The rise of indie-pop excites me the most. Young singers coming out with original content across genres is a good sign for Indian music.

What’s next?

I am working on a few original compositions, which I will release very soon.

Dil Uddeya will be available for streaming soon.

—  bsuchitra@newindianexpress.com