He was recently seen in a very groovy avatar in the single, Sniper. But now, singer Shaan is back to doing what he does best – romantic music. The celebrated musician has collaborated with composer Jeet Gannguli for a single, Aaj Mere Saath Sirf Tum Ho, which has been penned by Kunal Verma. Soon after the release of the love song, Saachibaat.com caught up with Shaan to talk about the track, his independent music projects, his upcoming ghazal compositions, and more.
Firstly, tell us about Aaj Mere Saath.
There’s a little history behind this song. Jeet da had composed this number for me way back in 2008 for an album that we were doing together. That didn’t quite work out, but the song stayed with us. It had different lyrics back then. I’m glad it finally saw light of the day now 12 years later, in 2020. The song was called Khushi earlier and humein khushi hui ki yeh gaana finally release hua hai.
How was the experience of working with Jeet Gannguli?
Working with Jeet da is always a pleasure. We’ve done a lot of popular Bengali and Hindi songs together. I love his style of composition; there’s so much of melody and passion in his music. I’m always happy to collaborate with him.
You’ve been releasing a lot of non-film music of late. Do you feel more satisfied as a musician to get that kind of freedom?
Yes, I’ve been releasing independent music quite frequently now and it’s great to work with wonderful musicians, who are capable of doing some amazing music. It feels creatively satisfying when there’s no interference from any other factor and you can create music the way you want. Also, today, thanks to the rise of the OTT platforms and films releasing digitally, not so many movie songs come through. So non-film music has become more like a mainstay, compared to film songs.
While most creative industries and professionals suffered during the lockdown, how was it for you?
I consider myself very lucky that I had a lot to do, even during the lockdown. I have a studio at home and my elder son, Soham, is a sound engineer and a good recordist. I also had another engineer come home. So work carried on in full swing and we made a lot of new non-film songs. I also made music for a few commercials and I’m doing some films as a composer, too. Besides that, I judged a Bengali music reality show, for which I would travel to Kolkata. I also did the Zee 25 years’ celebration as a host, which I shot from home. So, I’ve been very lucky to have done a lot of work over the last few months. Of course, I took all the required precautions to stay safe.
Your sons have now become your jamming partners. How’s it like being in the studio with Soham and Shubh?
Yes, my sons are my active jamming partners. While Soham helps me record stuff, Shubh is quite good on the guitar and he sings, too. He puts up covers on YouTube. So, we spend a lot of music hours together. Now that one is 18 and another is 15, we make a great company and are more like buddies, sharing different ideas. Soham is also working now with a music company, so he gives me a lot of insights from the other side, like how music companies are coping with the situation and the new ways of working during the digital era. He keeps me updated with all the new developments in the music industry.
We saw you in a different avatar in your last single, Sniper. Do you enjoy trying things that are unconventional?
Aaj Mere Saath is a quintessential Shaan song, a positive romantic number. Sniper was very different from what I’ve been doing regularly and I wanted to try something different. I enjoyed the whole process of shooting for the music video. But my mainstay will definitely be romantic songs.
When can we expect your next single?
My next single should be out soon. I’ve been working with a lot of new composers as well as some seasoned ones. I want to limit the number of singles I do, so that I can space them out well and give each of them enough breathing space for people to enjoy. So hopefully by January I should have another single out. Also, in 2021, I will be releasing a lot of ghazals that were composed by my father and written by Nida Fazli saab. I’m working on that project very meticulously and it’s very close to my heart.
Ms. Soumya Vajpayee
Senior Entertainment & Lifestyle Journalist
