Rahul Prasad, better known by his stage name Renao, recently released a new single titled Blind. Renao is a Bengaluru-born and London-based artiste, who never imagined making a career in music. He was on course to become one of the best badminton players in the country but it all changed when he attended a concert by DJ Avicii. Now, the singer is all set to release his brand new double EP, A Space between Orange & Blue. Renao lets us in on his upcoming double EP, how the Avicii concert changed his focus on music, adapting to life in London and lots more…
“When I was growing up in Bengaluru, the first thing I used to do after coming from school was to watch movies on HBO, Star Movies and channels like those. I was obsessed with western cinema. In movies there are scenes where you see someone on the dance floor and immediately you fall for that person. Blind is one such song that talks about that feeling. The feeling that one experiences when you see someone across the dance floor and you just want to dance with them. This song is not something that is personal to me nor does it have a deep meaning. It is just a fun peppy song,” Renao begins.
Talking about his upcoming double EP, the singer says, “The last EP that I put out had songs of the artistes that I liked. So, I made music like they did and put it all together in an album. Over the last six or seven months, I have been working on the current EP along with producer Zach Nahome. I now have a British accent when I talk, so people think that I am not from India. There was a constant battle about my identity and that was something that Zach wanted me to tell other people through my songs. So, the upcoming EP is my story. The story is about a boy, who grew up in Bengaluru and shifted to the UK at the age of 19 to make a career in music.”
The double EP has been titled A Space between Orange & Blue. When one mixes orange and blue, the resulting colour is brown and the album is the story of Renao as a brown person. The title also has another meaning to it. Orange represents the sun or driving with your friends and listening to your favourite music, while blue represents the moment when you are walking down the street, thinking about your life and going through self-introspection. The first five songs are orange and the last four songs are blue.
“My dad was a national level coach. Since I was five, I started playing badminton. I had briefly gone for piano classes but I left that because I wanted to learn the guitar. But badminton took over my life and I wanted to play in the Olympics and make a career. When I was around 15, I attended an Avicii concert, which was also the first concert I attended. EDM music was like a universal language for me and my friends. So, the next day, I searched on YouTube to check for software that makes music like Avicii does and started making music,” he reveals. Some of his songs that one can look forward to include Toast, Day Off and Always Be Mine.
A Space between Orange & Blue releases on June 2 and will be available for streaming on all audio platforms.
Email: alwin@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @al_ben_so