Vishal C.V. was destined to be the blue-eyed boy in the international independent music scene. While the love for music runs in this young Bengalurean’s blood, being spotted at a singing showcase at Los Angeles last year is what set things rolling for him. It lead the fledgling musician to record an EP with Grammy winning producers and song-writers Mack Mckinney, Manny Mijares, Jell Timmons and Eddie Serrano.
The US-bred vocalist, songwriter and guitarist, whose debut single So Typical rung in over a quarter million views on YouTube, is hopeful about making a mark for himself in the international indie music scene.
Talking about his upcoming Kannada album, which is slated to hit sometime in December, Vishal says, “I often feel there hasn’t been much of innovation in Kannada music. Maybe the directors are scared to experiment, since they are unsure how the audience will react. The music on my album will be a fusion of various genres, Western and Indian. My influences include the likes of Raghu Dixit. There is no specific age group target for the music, but I’m planning to liven up the tracks a wee bit.”
His growing up years in the West had a massive influence over his musical inclinations, Vishal says, “I spent most of my childhood in the US. So I think getting influenced by Western music was inevitable. I wouldn’t say I used to take music seriously back then, but I always used to enjoy listening to catchy sounds and used to sing along. My mom is also a trained classical singer. She always used to listen to and sing classic Kannada and Hindi hits, which is how I got familiar with Indian music even though I lived in the US,” begins Vishal, who’s also performed with artistes like Sonu Nigam, Armaan Malik, and Vijay Prakash.
While he is mostly identified as a pop and acoustic musician, a little bit of variety is what Vishal looks forward to. “The songs I have recently recorded are a mix of various genres of music, since I am still experimenting on what would work. One of the songs is focused on teenagers, but I think the rest have no age bar! However I feel people aged 15 to 25 are going to enjoy my music the most,” he smiles
Quite like most aspiring musicians, Vishal too hopes for a change in way the gigs function and the treatment meted out to young musicians. He shares, “It’s really hard for indie musicians today due to lack of opportunities to perform live unless you are famous or have someone who can give you a push. A lot of places expect you to perform for free, which really hurts because we musicians spend a lot of time practicing. I’d like to see more independent musicians with real talent play live shows and get the credit they deserve.”
The first year commerce student loves how his passion seeps into his free time too. “I play cricket, hang out with my friends. I am also a sports columnist. Otherwise, I am always working on new music,” he laughs.
A full-time musician, who’s currently pursuing his bachelors from St. Josephs College of Commerce, Bengaluru, has his plate full for the near future with the release of So Typical in an upcoming compilation of Universal Music records, the recording for the final two songs of the EP, his music video and a Kannada album.
“I hope to be an international touring and recording artiste someday. I also love composing music so I like helping upcoming artistes reach their level of satisfaction too. If any young artist wants to grow in the field, I would love to help them or collaborate,” he concludes, optimistically.
