Shaan spoke on his days in the quarantine. (Photo: Shaan/Instagram)
Singer Shaan has picked his guitar after a long time during the lockdown. When most of the artistes are looking for ways to keep their creative energies flowing while staying at home, Shaan says he is also trying to help with household chores.
In an exclusive interaction with indianexpress.com, the versatile singer shared his take on the trend of recreations and 90s Indie pop songs. He also spoke about his association with virtual concert Sangeet Setu by the Indian Singers Rights Association.
Excerpts from the conversation:
Q. How are you keeping yourself occupied during self-isolation?
I have gone back to strumming the guitar after a long time. It’s still very rusty. But I am trying to spend more time with the guitar, which I hadn’t all these years. So hopefully I should come through playing it a little better. And of course, working out and doing some housework after a long time.
Q. Are you doing household chores too?
Honestly, I am not contributing much compared to most others. My wife has OCD. She likes to do things her way, and she’s very good at it. She works hard all day long cleaning and dusting. I do the beds, and I just do a little bit of the plates and stuff after lunch.
Q. You have become picky when it comes to Bollywood playback singing? What is keeping you away?
Well, I wish I could blame the lockdown for me not doing enough film music, but things have been different lately. But I did sing for Baaghi 3. There was a song “Tere Jaisa Yaar Kahan”, and I have also sung for a few forthcoming films.
I am looking forward to being heard more in films in 2020.
Q. A recent song which you wish you had sung?
The Kalank title track. I think it’s beautiful. I would have loved to sing that.
Q. Do you think singing reality shows have changed the Indian music scene over the years?
No, I don’t really think that. We’ve got a lot of great talent who have become popular, but not many of them have transcended into becoming successful singers.
Q. The kind of popularity your generation of singers saw, might not be achievable now.
I think even this generation is very popular. We had a great run, and I am very grateful to my fans and listeners. I am still around and hoping that they still follow my music. But I am sure the new generation is also achieving a lot and getting very popular.
Q. Do you think the current music trends mould audience choices or is it the other way around?
Yes, I definitely think that the current music trends don’t really give the audience much choice but to listen to the songs that are being heavily promoted. I know for a fact that the audience wants to listen to original music. And if they have to hear an old song, they can listen to that song any which way in its own avatar. And yet a lot of recreations are being created and heavily marketed, pushed onto people, which is probably something they don’t want. But like you said that yes, current music trends mould audience choices. If you don’t give them a choice, they have to kind of make do with whatever they get. And that’s what’s happening.
Q. How do you see the trend of recreations?
I think recreations, to some extent, makes sense when you bring in a new vibe or sound to a song that was very popular in a different era. But how you do it is most important. If you actually take a dance song and make a dance song of it, then where is creativity and how is it any different? So, you have to see how you can actually, without destroying the song’s original ethos, make it contemporary and bring it alive in modern times. So how you do it is very important.
Q. There has always been nostalgia around the 90s songs and Indie pop. What was it about the music of that era which still lives on?
Well, the 90s was the advent of Indie pop and Indie pop had kind of captured everyone’s imagination. Film music had a distinct sound. Indie pop had a distinct sound. And that is why the 90s music is very special because you had a choice of what kind of music you want to listen to. A lot of those songs are coming back because they have a very strong recall value.
Q. What attracted you towards the Sangeet Setu initiative? And how are you preparing for an online concert?
Sangeet Setu is aiming for optimal reach by having us go online and perform. It made a lot of sense to be a part of this fundraiser, which is going to go out to millions of people. I am sure it’s going to make a big difference. So I had to be a part of it. I am preparing with a few minus one tracks where not just the live voice, but the listeners will get to hear the music behind me.
Q. Apart from monetary, how else do you think artistes can use their craft to spread awareness about coronavirus?
As singers, as entertainers, it is a social and moral duty to spread entertainment and happiness. That is what we will be doing in dark times like this when people are very worried about the future. We can take their minds off that, and add some happiness to their lives. By now, everyone knows about washing hands and the lockdown. So now we have to make them aware of the PM-Cares fund, and we should contribute to that.