Popular 90s pop and rock band Aryans, who were famous for tracks like ‘Aankhon Mein’ and ‘Dekha Hai Teri Aankhon Ko’, have not been seen in the music scene for a while. While the band, as a whole, is not making new music, it is playing gigs across the country and reaching out to its audience. However, Sadu (K M Sadashivan), one member of the quartet, is still making music and has decided to release 18 never heard before songs in the coming years.

Sadu hopes to enrich all the memories his band created in the past through his upcoming singles.

Tribute to Jagjit Singh

I am into classical singing and am a great fan of the late Jagjit Singh. After he passed away, the trend he tried during his time has died, and no one is trying to experiment with sound. Nobody is focusing on the type of arrangement Jagjit Singh used to use in his songs. I am trying to get that melody through the rhythm guitar, rock guitar, drums and an amalgamation of all this with Indian instruments.

Jagjit Singh is one of those people who introduced new sounds and I am trying to keep that music style alive through my music.

Singles

I planned the GhazalRock couplet which was released under Times Music – one is ‘Mohabbat Mein’ and the other one is ‘Dil Mein Kisi Ki’, a long time ago. Both songs are available on iTunes. I have tried to experiment in terms of arrangement of music and I am really honoured and delighted with the response the song has received so far. I thought the track will take time to get some good response, but I have received it. It is very difficult to get fans to like these types of songs, with all the alcohol songs and vulgar videos going around in the music circuit. Today, slow songs like mine rarely get attention. It is not very easy to woo the audience.

I wanted the song to be a tribute to Jagjit Singh. ‘Mohabbat Mein’ is a poem by famous Urdu poet Jigar Moradabadi and the music arranger is Marc. When I heard the lyrics for the first time I thought I would make something around it and I finally did. I was very delighted that I was able to do justice to the lyrics. I have penned the lyrics of some of the songs on my own because I enjoy writing lyrics. The feel in ‘Yeh Hawa’ will be seen in my few upcoming songs.

My association with Times Music is for a single, but I am hopeful that it will continue for other singles as well.

I have 18 songs that are complete and I will release all of them in intervals in the span of two years. I have planned videos for all the singles. After a couple of months, I will start working on the music video for the next single.

Currently, I am busying playing at various venues and promoting my single during the show. After I feel that I have done enough promotion of my two new songs, I will start planning on the video for my next single soon.

Take on Bollywood

My take on Bollywood is that it has always been the same. The day when Bollywood stops putting out music in films that is when you will see beautiful musicians coming out of India. The pattern that is followed in the west should be implemented in India, and then it will make sense. Here, people who work on films are highlighted and others are overshadowed.

The trend in Bollywood music has changed a lot. The songs nowadays lack soul because music is created according to the situation in the film.

There are so many songs that are very bad in terms of music and lyrics. But there are some songs that are good, like the latest tracks by Arijit Singh. There are so many artistes who are awesome. The only problem is that there is more bad than good, so there is less good music.

There are a lot of composers and singers who can do wonders, but Bollywood music has crippled the music industry. Music channels are very adamant that they will play songs only if it is Bollywood music so there is no option to promote music and this is a big barrier. There are very few professionals in the music industry who care about music and art rather than making profit. That is why, there is a problem.

Experimenting with today’s music

I have received film offers, but did not take them up because they were based around the sequences of the film. If the type of songs I have created suits the situation then it is good, otherwise it makes no sense to make a soulless song.

Today, I am promoting my solo career but if in future my band ‘Aryans’ plan to launch an album or single together, we will surely do it.

Music companies

The problem today is that music companies have songs but they are unable to promote them. The label companies were earning through physical sales. With the rise of piracy and digital downloads, physical sales have gone down which was a turning point for label companies and they started investing in film music rather than in non-film music.

People assume we did not try but I would like to clarify that we did. Label companies and music channels failed to give us the same respect they used to give us in the past. It is all thanks to Bollywood that musicians, singers and bands like us are suffering. But still, my expectations are high.