MUMBAI: From singing on stage during his school years and college festivals to playing at the biggest music festival in the country- NH7 in 2012, Vernon Noronha is one singer-songwriter with the potential to make it big in the independent music scene in the country. The self taught guitarist and music composer talks to Radioandmusic.com about his upcoming EP and single 'Candlelight with Sunrise' releasing on 23 July this year.

Noronha, whose voice reminds you of John Mayer and Michael Buble, experiments with genres like Pop, Surf and Blues. He has been in the music scene for three years now and will soon release a new single called 'Candlelight with Sunrise'. His debut EP 'Closer to Home' will be released in December this year.

'Candlelight with Sunrise' is about hope, he says, that he dedicated to a friend. This is his second single after the first one 'Chasing All Over Again' which was released in April 2013.

The 24 year old musician is inspired by artistes like John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz. His music is heavily influenced by their music and his favourite song is 'Stop this Train' by Mayer. He believes that the song is subtle and metaphorical which is how he writes his songs too. He says, "I would absolutely love to perform with Jason Mraz, if given a chance." He also adds that he wishes to perform with Nikhil D'Souza, a Mumbai based singer-songwriter who recently lent his vocals for a few tracks in the film 'Filmistaan'.

Noronha started writing songs and poems at the age of 16 when he realised that he could pen down his raw emotions. As this passion evolved, he decided that he wanted to be a musician, which is why he learnt to play the guitar at the age of 18 through books and religiously following artistes. He says, "I write because like this I can remember every incident vividly 20 years down the line."

He has performed at events like Live from the Console, Quicksilver launch parties and at blueFROG, which was also his first gig experience and Hard Rock cafes across the country. His best gig experience was performing at NH7, about which he says, "When 'Bombay Bicycle Club' (British Indie Rock Band) is just chilling, listening to you play and enjoying it, that is the best feeling ever. Also, opening the set for Nikhil D'Souza at 'The Little Door' was something I feel very honoured about."

The Mumbai based artiste hopes that in five years' time he will be performing for an international audience, a dream common to most indie artists. He has 40 original songs out of which he will be selecting a few to form another EP next year. He admits that his favourite self composed song is 'Be the Light' which is a very optimistic track and he hopes to spread happiness through his music. He says that he could never sell his soul to enter the mainstream Bollywood industry and the independent music scene is his temple.

Although his dedication and passion is evident through the kind of music he creates, Noronha's song writing process is fairly erratic. He says, "When a melody hits me - at the most random times- I write a song. I cannot sit down just for the purpose of writing a song. When a melody comes to me, I go ahead with it and voila – there is a brand new track."

He will next be seen at blueFROG for singer/songwriter night on 2 July.