Oooh! These riffs and melodies wrapped in a wonderful fusion, how amazing!
The world is Bluesanova a.k.a. Darshan Lodayaβs oyster and he paints it with his colourful music. Darshan is a Mumbai based electronic music producer, vocalist and guitarist with his musical expression comprising of dark synths and addictive riffs, drawing influence from an eclectic range of genres that include 80βs Synthpop, Chill, Jazz and Indian Classical Music.
The moniker βBluesanovaβ comes from a jazz song by Tom Browne.Β He explains, βI remember I was in college at that point of time. The song travels through genres which really appealed to me as an young musician The name sounded really good and the idea of not being stuck in genres and fluidly shifting styles really appealed to me.Good music is good music no matter what genre it comes from.β
Darshan holds an MBA from the venerable institute NMIMS, Mumbai. After working in the corporate world for years, he realized that music was his one true calling. Bluesanova has also been featured on Bombay Times’ Artist Alert, Vh1, MTV Indies and Radio One. He adds, βI actually started playing guitar and producing electronic music around the age of 15. But later, music took a back seat while I focussed on my corporate career. The decision to pursue music full time has been one of purpose, peace and happiness.β
Bluesanova was part of the band 7th Aayaam and currently, he is one half of the synthpop duo, Bluesanova Barkha in addition toΒ his myriad solo activities! He has collaborated with artists from across the globe including fromΒ Asia, America, Europe, Israel and Jamaica and has performed for large audiences at Jazz By the Bay, Bandra AmphitheaterΒ andΒ Dublin Square inΒ Phoenix Market City, KurlaΒ .
That’s not all! He has produced film scores for independent films in India such as Call Waiting, a short film starring Sayani Gupta, directed by Anubhuti Kashyap and produced by Guneet Monga.
Bluesanova has produced the music for the Making Of the WorldΒ ForΒ All Celebrity Calendar 2015. supporting adoption of stray animals and featuring notable personalities such as Imran Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Kalki, Mandira BediΒ and more! Bluesanovaβs latest video release “Woh Roke Hum Ruke Na” is a collaboration with “Mumbai’s Finest”. The song talks about never giving up and starsΒ Miss India Intercontinental 2015, Snehapriya Roy.
The rich tradition of Rajasthani folk music has been infused with electronic music by Bluesanova and how! We had the opportunity to listen to the hypnotizing composition and it would be an understatement to say that it blew our minds! What his future holds is his upcoming EP βFreedomβ which is a collection of songs with various artists. This threeΒ song EP features collaborations with Manjoor Khan Manganiyar and Group, Shivkumar– a Carnatic classical violin player, Matt Bacon – an established guitar player and Crazy Vibe – electronic music producer.
Looking back at his journey, he humbly says, βWell it’s been a journey of ups and downs and also of growth; and I think that I am a better musician now. I try and keep my head down and work on the craft.β
His advice to budding artists is quite simple: βKeep creating music from the heart and keep working with likeminded musicians. It’s easy to get distracted and to miss out on enjoying the process of creation – mostly by constantly worrying about the future. I think our life is now, and not some elusive, long term goal.β
Another EP by his duo act,Β Bluesanova Barkha,Β that he has formed with the super talented vocalist/songwriter Barkha Swaroop Saxena, is in works and will be out in April. Moreover, releases of a whole bunch of collaborations with Trap/EDM Producer Crazy Vibe, Hip-Hop Producer IβnβStine, Rapper Sahir Nawab, vocalist/composer Samira Koppikar and Vocalist Projected Twin can be expected.
The retro vibe in his music is haunting and addictive. It can be traced back to his obsession with 80s synthpop. If you have a knack for this type of music, look no further! βFor me it’s about the beautiful synths, the haunting melodies, the introspective / deep lyrical content and the overall melancholic vibe. I tend to gravitate towards that kind of sound, after having grown on a staple of Depeche Mode or New Order,β concludes Darshan.
Watch out for this rising star in the future!