MUMBAI: Saavn, South Asia’s audio and music streaming service, in collaboration with indie artist, Prateek Kuhad, is announcing the release of its newest single, ‘Tum Jab Paas’.

The song, which is now available to stream globally, is the latest for Prateek, who is known for blending minimal sounds with sunny folk arrangements and pop melodies. It is the third original release under Saavn’s Artist Originals (AO) repertoire, a program launched in February to empower artists, songwriters and producers from around the world and connect East-West talent and fans.

Kuhad’s latest ‘Tum Jab Paas’, demonstrates his ear for melody and ease with themes of love and longing. The song tells a collective story about the sweet innocence of love. “Tum Jab Paas is centered on the pronounced yet conflicting feelings of intimacy and vulnerability, which come with being in love. Hopefully, listening to the song will make one feel something honest and real,” Prateek stated.

‘Tum Jab Paas’ is Prateek’s first release through a streaming service. “This is my very first time working on a release with Saavn. They’re doing some exciting work with artists around the globe, and Saavn Artist Originals looks like a really promising initiative - one that I'm looking forward to being a part of,” added Kuhad.

Listen to the track:

Prateek, who is quickly becoming the international face of Indian indie music, has performed all over the world, taking the stage at music industry showcases like SXSW, CMW, BIGSOUND, Music Matters and high-profile events like Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. Earlier this year in January, he supported Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Mike Posner on the artist’s three-city India tour. His first album, the English-language ‘In Tokens and Charms’, received rave reviews across India and was picked by iTunes as the Indian Indie Album of the Year. Prateek was also named NPR Music’s 100 Acts to Watch at SXSW 2016 and was awarded Best India Act at the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Following two Artist Originals tracks within the realm of hip-hop and electronic music, this is the first folk-pop original for Saavn, and Prateek is the first singer-songwriter in the program.

“Part of the Artist Originals vision is to be open-minded and to push the boundaries of what’s considered popular music today. Prateek has a certain authenticity that has attracted a global audience and an incredible amount of success in just two years. We immediately recognised his potential, not only as a musician and a performer but as a universally-accessible storyteller. It’s an honour to help amplify Prateek’s voice to the world,” said Saavn Associate A&R Director Neal Sarin.

As with all Artist Originals (AO) tracks, Saavn will be promoting and distributing Kuhad's new track through The Orchard, the leading music distributor across digital and physical channels in 25 global markets. The news follows Saavn’s initial AO launch with the release of ‘Azaad Hu Mai’, a track produced by Indian hip-hop star, Naezy and No Games from Toronto-based, Sickick. With AO, Saavn has become the first streaming company to conceptualise, produce, and distribute new music with independent artists in India.