Singer-songwriter Nikhil D’Souza – the familiar voice behind several Bollywood hits, has released his independent Hindi 4-track EP ‘WaQt’. His third till date, this compilation comprises soulful tracks that are sure to take you down your own personal memory lane. Each track is a poignant reminder of the fleeting nature of love and relationships, weaved together within the intricate fabric of time. As a multi-lingual artist, Nikhil’s latest work has seen a significant shift towards Hindi while his earlier independent work was mostly in English.
Nikhil’s last release was the twin track EP ‘People’ in May this year, which has crossed over 400,000 Spotify streams till date. Aside from this, his musical journey over the years has seen enormous success through hit collaborations with leading producers, directors in India and artists abroad. Nikhil has been strumming the guitar and singing ever since he was 12. And after playing for several bands, he rose to fame singing the iconic songs ‘Shaam’ and ‘Mere Bina’ from the movies Aisha and Crook back in 2010. Over the last decade, Nikhil has sung several hit Bollywood tracks and more importantly, has enjoyed a successful independent song-writing career. He has collaborated with many international producers and songwriters and until recently was signed to East West Records, a label owned by Warner Music UK. Nikhil has performed across India and abroad and his last memorable performance was at the iconic London Palladium, singing with the BBC Concert Orchestra for their Simon & Garfunkel tribute.
“Waqt is definitely an interpretive account of my personal experiences and so it truly holds a very special place in my heart. I’m extremely excited about this one, since it’s also the single largest body of work in Hindi I have put out at one time. I do hope that these tracks take everyone back in time and evoke the same sense of love and nostalgia, as they did for me,” says Nikhil D’souza.
A roller coaster of emotions, this EP glides through distinct and very familiar phases in life that everyone relates to. Consisting of four heart brushing songs, ‘Thode Se Kam’, ‘Teri Tarah’, ‘Gaye Zamaane’ & ‘Hairaan’ – each represents a time in life where you may have felt complete wholesomeness, to perhaps longing, an ode to young love or moments of instability. These phases are distinctly represented by memorabilia of the dried flower between pages, a small scribbled note, a ticket of a show and a postage stamp, all creatively coming together to form the EP art.
On ‘WaQt’ we see stellar production work owing to the collaborations Nikhil manages to put together. While Nikhil has composed the tracks and did the vocals and guitars, the lyrics have been penned down by Pinky Poonawala. ‘Teri Tarah’ has been produced by Karan Jhaveri of Rawr Music while electronic artist Ox7gen has produced ‘Gaye Zamaane’. Zohran Miranda and Nathan Thomas have also played guitars on Gaye Zamaane.
‘WaQt’ is out now and available on all streaming platforms.
