MUMBAI: After teasing fans with images of two forward slashes on his Facebook page, Kolkata-based singer songwriter Nischay Parekh finally opened up about his new musical project. The new yet-untitled album will be a duet album by Parekh and fellow Kolkata-based drummer Jivraj Singh. Singh has worked with Parekh on his previous album ‘Ocean’, but this will be the first time they release a project as a duo. Parekh revealed that the two forward slashes represent him and Singh.

“The new album is very different to ‘Ocean’; it has a different environment, a different atmosphere,” said Parekh about the new 10-track album. “In terms of sound, the album is very futuristic. It is still quirky, like ‘Ocean’, but we have used strum machines and synths in a playful and organic way,” he added. He also said that every song on the album is lengthier, and that about 60 per cent of the album is done, with just some vocals left to be recorded.

Parekh even went ahead with comparing the new record with a popular HBO anthology series. “The album is more like a television series, and less like a film. It is more on the lines of the HBO miniseries ‘True Detective’. That said, the new album is more diverse, musically,” Parekh stated. He also said that the new album is all pop, with elements of rock, hip hop, electronica and also poetry. He further added that the duo started working on the album back in 2013, and is expecting to release by the end of September or early October.

When asked whether his music had evolved from his last record, Parekh said that it had, especially his songwriting. “It is a departure from the songs I have written before. I used to write about what I would feel and see and hear. But now more physical things have crept into my songwriting. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone, and I wanted to reinvent myself as a songwriter.”

He also said the new album would include a post-apocalypse themed track, as well as one that is based on physics. Parekh said that, for a week, he watched only television programmes on National Geographic Channel. He added that the ones that he really enjoyed were a documentary on the Hadron Collider and a nature documentary series called ‘Untamed Americas’. Other influences for Parekh include his newfound interest in equity and stock market as well as jewellery trade.

On music that Parekh is currently listening to, he said, “For a while now, I have got more into electronic stuff, and the acts I have been listening to include Canadian music artists Caribou, Mocky and Bahamas.” He also said that he is really growing fond of the ‘verse-chorus-bridge’ format that pop music follows.

Parekh also said that when he goes on tour to promote the new album, “it would be a visual event rather than sound.” He added, “This time around, I have tried to push the production value of live performances up a notch. The lights, the design, the visuals; everything is going to high.”

Parekh also said that promotion of his album would include auditorium concerts in two cities along with playing at live music venues.

Parekh will next play a solo gig on 21 August at the 8th Day Cafe in Kolkata. He will also been seen playing at the NH7 Weekender 2015 (Shillong, Kolkata and Pune)