It’s a frigid winter evening in Delhi. Amidst the biting cold and the shroud of fog, I sat down to have a conversation with one of the people whose music gives people warmth in their soul. The singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Bharg. Hot off the heels of his sophomore album Nikamma, he released a 3 packer EP titled Nithalla. This conversation, however, took things back to his first album with Rawal, Sab Chahiye. We talked about how his sound and mindset have changed since then. Also on the agenda were topics about how he got into music, his favorite artists, and a little sneak peek into what we can expect from him in the future. Here are candid words from the man himself
How has your mindset and the subject matter you talk about in songs changed from Sab Chahiye to Nikamma/Nithalla?
During Sab Chahiye, I didn’t know how to write songs about myself or my feelings. I used to write stuff about myself , but it wasn’t as elaborate or in-depth as it was in Nikamma. The songs on there can really paint a picture and tell you about my life and things I’ve experienced.
While working on Sab Chahiye with Rawal, I was exposed to the rap scene and I came across a plethora of phenomenal writers like Encore, Calm and of course Rawal himself. These guys would pour their heart out into their lyrics and write about their lives. I got to learn a lot from them and they were the reason I went from thinking about how I need to write about myself and my life, to actually doing it on my later stuff. I still believe I have a long way to go when it comes to saying some stuff, and I hope I am able to give myself that freedom and talk about it in future projects.
We saw a huge shift both sonically and in terms of lyrical content from SC to Nikamma, can we expect the same on your next record?
For sure. Changing my sound is something I look forward to doing whenever I make a new project, but at the same time I don’t want to be dishonest to it, or do it just for the sake of it. For example, if I wake up one day and I wanna make a jazz track, I’ll need to listen to the greats, I’ll need to read up about it, it’s a process that takes time and practice. Sonic changes are a part of me, they will happen. They could be very unique and different or they could be generic, but they will happen. Nithalla is sort of like an introduction to that, there are 3 songs with three completely different sounds: a rock-pop song, a DnB track, and a melodic trap song. It’s a statement in the sense that there are no boundaries in what I do next. I believe that if I want to make music in a certain genre, just one track is not enough, I wanna make 4-5 tracks in that genre to really send it home. I’ve been wanting to make stuff like Linkin Park for a while now, but not just one song, 3-4 songs. So the sound will change, but for me to cover everything that I wanna make, it will take some time.
What were your influences and things you drew from when making SC and Nikamma, what about the influences on the new record?
I draw from a lot of varied genres. When I was young, I used to listen to a lot of metal: Lamb of God, Cannibal Corpse and whatnot, really wacky shit. From there I went into old rock: Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Doors, Guns n Roses. Guns n Roses is one of my favorite bands of all time, an easy top 10 artists/bands of all time for me. My first concert was also theirs, when they had come to Gurgaon. I was also huge on EDM, that’s when I picked up a DAW. Skrillex was huge for me, he was a bridge between metal and electronic music. I also loved hip-hop, especially Eminem. I had CDs of his MMLP2 record and the Eminem Show. Recently, my biggest influences have been pop-jazz bands and artists, like Hiatus Kaiyote and Mac DeMarco. If I had to put them all in one go, in no particular order, they are: Skrillex, Linkin Park, Metallica, Eminem, Lil Wayne, MacDeMarco, Boy Pablo, and The Beatles. I wouldn’t be a musician without these artists.
A lot of the songs and themes on Nikamma talk about the weird in-between feeling amongst growing up, wanting to stay young, and chasing your dreams, all while trying to live life to the fullest, and they resonate a lot with young people. Are the stories you tell from your experiences from when you started making music, or are there any other factors at play?
All the songs are experiences of my own, things that I’ve seen and experienced as a member of an average middle class family. I try to not write or make songs about things which I’ve heard or seen about because I believe that makes it a little inauthentic, since there is only so much one can interpret.
You are a musician who wears many hats, a producer, singer, songwriter, and a multi-instrumentalist. How did you develop all of these abilities? Which one of these roles is the closest to your heart/you enjoy being the most in?
I love singing and playing the guitar. My favourite thing is to be on stage and perform my songs. Producing has been the first thing I started off with, so it is a close second, but I love singing and playing the guitar more, I feel it’s more of an outward thing. I can always. As a DJ or a producer, I can play my songs anytime but performing them live as a singer is just something I love.
Imagine that you’re playing music on your TV, guitar in hand, pretending that you’re the one performing it, imagining that there are thousands of people in a crowd listening to you perform it. That’s what I used to do. And that feeling is better than anything else in the world, that feeling is why I make music.
Do you believe that the second album curse is a real thing? (artists/bands fail to replicate the commercial and musical success of their first record on their second one). If yes, then how did you manage to get past it? Because Nikamma was on par with if not better than SC in terms of both sonics and commercial success.
I totally get what you’re saying man, and it’s very true. It is very tough, I’ll be honest. Even when I was about to put Nithalla out, I was scared whether it’ll be good enough or not. I keep feeling these things and that’s a constant battle I’ll always have, but at the end of the day, I have to keep making music, and I need to do it well. I make good music and that’s all that really matters to me, as long as I make music that is fun, and is something I enjoy.
Sab Chahiye was great, my debut album, my first success story. To move on to Nikamma from that was very difficult and challenging. Not only was I making a complete genre and sound switch, I was also making my first solo album. Earlier, I was only known as Rawal x Bharg, our names were always used together. It was an identity shift. From a music producer who sang a few hooks and choruses on an album, to going about making a solo pop rock and punk record all by himself, with people wondering what kind of stuff he’s gonna say on there, it was tough.
But again, making music is my job, and I have to do my job. If people like it and relate to it, that’s great. If they don’t, I do get a little sad. Numbers are a real thing, when I see a little fluctuation in my numbers here and there, I do get sad, but I have to still get up and make music, that’s what it’s about. I’m glad Sab Chahiye worked out, I’m so happy people enjoyed Nikamma too. When I was making Nithalla I was very scared, but it’s doing well, which I’m happy to see, since it’s a very polarising project. As long as I keep growing, I’m good.
Are the songs on Nithalla loosies from Nikamma, your next record, or neither?
All three tracks were left out of Nikamma, because they didn’t fit the theme of the album. When I say this people think these songs were just rejects, it’s not that. They didn’t fit the album. I didn’t wanna put out songs that didn’t fit the theme or the vibe of the album. Nithalla was the song that was closest to Nikamma and that’s why it’s at the start of Nithalla, to kind of ease you into the new sound and let you know that it’s in continuation with Nikamma, sort of like a “Welcome to the next phase”.
Can we expect a live album/recording from the tour?
Yeah man of course I have. But it’s about the process in this. I need to have a big enough discography and I also want to do it with a whole big band, almost like a symphony. I have a band that I have been performing with for close to 2 years now, but if it comes to recording a live album, I want to have an even bigger band. These things take a lot of time, effort and money. And while I think I can put a lot of effort into it, I don’t have the time or money bandwidth for it right now. I’ll do it, all in good time.
