After a series of singles, Bengaluru-based indie singer Micheal Antony Dias, lead singer of Mad Orange Fireworks, is launching his debut album Show Me What’s Real. The album is 42 minutes long, comprising 10 songs, through which Dias tries to capture different questions he has about human relationships. The album launch is happening on November 3.
Dias, who is known for his vulnerable and sensible songwriting and music, has been one of the popular names of Bengaluru’s quintessential rock music scene but what took him so long to come up with his album? “The producer and recording engineer, Toby Joseph who worked with me on the album was very busy. It took a lot of time mostly because I had to wait for him. Also, I was not trying to devise a deadline with this album, I wanted to take my time, take it slow and easy,” says Dias, who is currently living in Goa.
The singer reveals a lot of the songs were written over a long period of time. Out of the 10 songs, around four songs are fresh written over the past two to three years. “There are a couple of songs that are over 10 years old. I’ve been mostly associated with my band. There are a lot of songs that did not really fit the band. For years, I’ve been thinking of putting out a solo album,” says Dias, adding that singer Frizzell D’souza is going to open the show.
Four songs from the album are currently out. “The rest are all coming as part of the whole album itself. I did this to get more people to hear these songs and be more invested in the whole album. Today, the world appreciates singles more than albums apparently,” he says. The Fruit is the latest song which features Shakthisree Gopalan, a vocalist-composer, who is famous for her collaborations with top South Indian music composers like AR Rahman.
“The Fruit lyrically represents the rise and fall of a relationship. It’s not a happy love song, it’s a very sad love song. It is referring to how two individuals can end up feeling lost in the same relationship,” says Dias. He further adds, “Since it’s a song about relationships, it needs a touch of a female voice and Shakthi’s voice added that magic.” The other songs that are part of the album are I Will Let You Go, Chai Song, and Time Machine, which was the first one to be released and got a good response from indie music lovers.