Rohan Solomon Unwraps the Festive Magic with Christmas-themed track
In an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle, Rohan Solomon, Singer-Songwriter & Producer talks about his latest Christmas-themed track, ‘It’s Christmas’.
Can you share the inspiration behind your song ‘It's Christmas’? What motivated you to create a Christmas-themed track?
I’ve been putting out a song for Christmas pretty much every year for quite a while now, so I guess it’s a tradition for me to do something on Christmas. It’s my favourite time of the year and a big part of the whole Christmas experience for me is singing carols etc. And considering the fact that I’m a songwriter, I love to write about various topics, hence I’ve written a few Christmas originals as well. “It’s Christmas” I remember writing while I was still living in New York. It was snowing outside and it was warm inside the house with Christmas lights and decorations. It just inspired me to write a song about Christmas. Which explains the very first line of the song “I see the lights, they’re shining on brightly today…”
Walk us through the creative process of developing the music video for ‘It's Christmas’. How did you conceptualise and bring the festive visuals to life?
What I loved the most was getting the vision that was in my head onto the screen. I also loved the collaborations we did for this video. Working with talented actors like Jigyasa and Dinesh was a lot of fun. Creatively, the story that I wanted to tell was that no matter how varied our lives may be all through the year, Christmas is one time of the year where we all get together and celebrate. We could all be working in different industries and hence can’t meet up that often all year long, but Christmas is a time where we definitely look forward to spending time with our loved ones. This is exactly what I wanted to communicate through the video. We show that the various actors are all living totally separate lives and doing their own thing and they get an invitation from me for a get together and that get together is the magnet and draws them all in for the celebration of love and Christmas. I wanted to show this by bright colours and awesome decorations and of course, the party scene at the end shows just how lively and fun this time of the year is. Even the choice to play a red coloured guitar in the video was to match the Christmas theme.
Given the holiday theme, how do you aim to connect with your audience through ‘It's Christmas’? What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take away from the song?
I don’t really think I'm trying to send a message or preach anything through the song. It’s just a song that is “feel good” and is supposed to bring joy and happiness to people who listen to it. It’s supposed to get you in the mood to celebrate with your loved ones. It promotes the emotion of love and togetherness and how important it is to take the time to celebrate this with your loved ones.
Being an independent artist for such a long time, what are some of the challenges you've faced, and how have you overcome them in the evolving music landscape?
Being an artist that sings in English, it has definitely been a challenge. But I’ve been fortunate to have been able to find my niche audience that connects with my music. That’s pretty much the goal of music and musicians… to connect with people. The music scene is constantly evolving. That is something that we can't really avoid, but it’s best to adapt to this evolution and find ways to keep my music fresh for me and my fans. Learning music production has definitely helped me with this.
Having been in the music industry for over two decades, how do you feel your approach to creating music has evolved, especially with a festive track like ‘It's Christmas’?
Well, having the knowledge of music production and audio engineering, plus having my own recording studio - Synergy Audio Productions has made the process very easy. Of course, keeping up with the latest technology allows me to try various new things in my music and keep things exciting. I actually played every single instrument in “It’s Christmas” including all the percussions etc.
My nieces helped me out with some claps in the song. I got that choir effect by layering about 20 layers of my own vocals but using different voicings and timbres of my voice. Plus, I would stand in different positions in the room at various distances from the mic to make it as realistic as possible. Then of course, there are some tricks of the trade as to how to mix those and make them fit nicely in the song, which I did a pretty good job with haha!! I guess that’s how I kept it exciting for myself, by doing everything myself.
What's the impact of social media on promoting music? How has the dynamic of connecting with your audience through social platforms influenced your career and artistic expression?
I think social media is an amazing tool to promote music and have an organic connection with your audience. It eliminates the middleman and lets you communicate directly with the audience. I specially felt this when I released my single “Happy Place”, earlier this year. I received so many DM’s and connected with so many people and started a progressive dialogue about mental health during that time. Creating content really allows us to be free and experimentative in expressing our artistic vision.
Can you share more about how your songwriting has matured, particularly in the process of prioritising the essential elements that serve the overall story or theme of a track?
My songwriting has certainly matured over time. I care less about doing fancy things and more about storytelling now. This is something that I learned from amazing producers like J Chris Griffin & Michael Brauer during my time in New York. They kept drilling it into my head that the story is above everything else. Now, I've started adapting this philosophy into my own songwriting and it clearly sounds more mature and also I genuinely see more people connecting with the songs. It goes without saying that a larger number of the general population (who are not musicians) will connect with a story that they can relate to as opposed to a cool guitar riff.
Building a personal connection with fans seems crucial. Can you share an instance where this personal connection through social media or other means has had a significant impact on your music or career?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, when I released my song “Happy Place”, earlier this year, I really developed a personal connection with a lot of people where I would connect with them even one on one via DM on Instagram. Even using the right hashtags can get you new people who connect with your content and that can lead to them listening to other songs that you’ve released.
Your latest album, ‘Strung Out To Dry,’ draws inspiration from various stages of your life. Could you share specific instances or experiences that profoundly influenced the creation of certain tracks?
“Strung Out To Dry” took about 4 years to make and consists of brand new songs and some older ideas that were reworked into songs that fit the vibe and story of the album. As I listen to each song, I hear memories of my time in the studio while I was making that particular song. It could be a particular lyric that was changed at the last minute or a conversation I had with Harshit about a certain orchestral part etc. If I was to think of a personal experience that influenced a song or two, it would be “Set Me Free” & “You Are History”. These 2 songs are basically about a particular toxic relationship at different stages. I remember being very heart broken during that time of my life and wrote these songs. I also remember, as I was recording the vocals for both of these, I would channel those emotions and sing through them. In “Set Me Free”, you can really hear the pain in my voice and in “You Are History” , you can really hear the anger. But that's the only way to be authentic. You have to feel those emotions while performing your vocals or else nobody else will feel it.
What advice do you have for aspiring independent artists navigating the complexities of the music industry, especially in leveraging social media and maintaining authenticity?
Stay true to yourself and follow your dreams. Create your own sound and identity. Use tools like Social Media to your advantage and leverage that platform to get your music out there. Everyone has a unique story, make sure that you tell your own story because you never know who might connect with it and find it interesting. Believe in yourself.
Watch ‘It’s Christmas’.
