Indie artiste Haard opens up about following his calling and finding his sound
Much like a prodigal son’s return home, independent artiste Haard Dave, who goes by Haard, did not have the most straightforward journey to a career in music. The 31-year-old singer-songwriter who grew up with musically inclined parents, dropped out of college and pursued a 10-year career in filmmaking before heeding the call to pursue music. Speaking to Indulge about his recent single, Chalte Chalte, a track that reflects his unconventional journey into music, Haard delves into the making of his new track and what he has planned for the road ahead.
Excerpts:
What inspired Chalte Chalte? How did the song come together?
The foundation of the song was based on not choosing the conventional path. It was very much related to my journey — moving through life and not knowing the destination, but just knowing where you are headed. The process also was very unconventional. I wrote the song and left it for a year. The song was half written. I just gave up on the song, saying, ‘this is never going to happen, I don’t think it will ever be completed.’ But one day, out of nowhere, the song popped up in my notes while I was scrolling through them. And I ended up writing it in the next two hours.
Tell us a bit about your musical background. What prompted you to pursue music?
My parents used to perform in their post-college era. So music was always constant. I was always choosing the road less taken. So I dropped out of college and changed many fields before finally settling into filmmaking. But we would only work on music videos. Meanwhile, I was in a band called 21 KM Project, and we would produce songs and also perform live. I waved goodbye to 10 years of filmmaking just to pursue the essence of music that was always constant.
Do you intend to stick with a particular genre, or are you looking to experiment?
Not a genre in particular, but I want to make music that can be played live. A lot of new productions are heavily based on generated sounds, but I want my songs to be played live as they were recorded. But otherwise, my music will have elements of Contemporary Rock, like distorted guitars, bass and drums.
Is there an album or an EP that you’re currently working on?
I’m currently releasing songs as singles, but they’re a part of an EP comprised of five songs. Three of them are in Hindi, one of them is in English, and one is in Gujarati — so that I can give back to my roots.
Chalte Chalte is out on all major music platforms.