Explore the rich culture of folk-fusion

“Swaraag” which specialises in Sufi-fusion, Indo-western, Bollywood mashup, Instrumental fusion and folk songs. Post the thundering success of both their indie songs “Yun Sawarna” and “Yaara Ve” “Swaraag” is all set to release their 3rd indie song which will be dubbed in Telugu language as well.

"Swaraag" band were the runners up in the singing reality show 'Rising Star 3'. The band before lockdown has performed over 1000+ shows across the world. The band features Pratap Singh (Founder/Team Coach), Arif Khan (Zitar player), Asif Khan (Lead Singer), Tasruf Ali (Saxophone), Rishab Rozar (Guitar), Arif Khan (Khartal/Morchang player), Sajid Khan (Drummer) and Saif Ali Khan (Tabla Player). They bring forth the best of traditional Rajasthani music amalgamated with modern instruments to create a mellifluous experience for the audience.

The band has collaborated with well-known Telugu lyricist based out of Hyderabad Chaitanya Prasad for the Telugu version of the song.

Tell us about "Ghani Ghani". What is it about and the inspiration behind the same?

“Ghani Ghani” (Gana Ganamani in Telugu) is a song that beautifully describes a girl's feelings (the character played by actress Ruhii Singh) who experiences falling in love for the first time in her life. Being a royal princess who falls in love with a horse rider (the character played by Rajveer Verma), irrespective of the societal taboo or royal boundaries she is full of life again. She feels her heart fluttering with this newfound happiness. She doesn’t even know what to call this…is it love…her own stubbornness…new reason to live she was waiting for years. She feels her whole world has changed; time is on her side. She doesn’t care about the world anymore. As far as inspiration is concerned, It basically reflects the desire of women. In today’s male-dominated society, it is difficult for a woman to raise her voice against her family or society. So, this song reflects the women's desire to live on her own terms.

What is the idea behind releasing the song in Telugu?

Yes, this question is genuine as we hail from the north and it's true as well that we hardly get a chance to listen to Telugu songs. But as and when we reached Hyderabad for shows and concerts, we got to listen to all this stuff at Airports, Café, and Hotels. So, at that time when we listen to it, we get mesmerized by the beats and feel of these songs. So, this is the first moment when we feel the vibes to work on it. And then during the lockdown scenario, we do have time to explore our very new interest in this genre (Telugu). Gradually we check out all the famous artists and songs and we really liked the work of Sidsriram his voice structure and the quality of the Song is phenomenal. From there we got inspired to work on this version of “Ghani Ghani” so we get more versatility and learning in this musical learning journey.

What was it like working with Chaitanya Prasad on the song? What went into the process of writing the song in Telugu?

It was Indeed a great experience working with sir Chaitanya Prasad ji. Once we have decided to finalize the genre of this song, now the next thing that comes up is to check for some writer who can translate this in Telugu, so after a long search and discussion with multiple writers we have finalised the legendary Chaitanya Prasad Ji. Who has beautifully written many Songs of the movie “Bahubali” The best part is we have listened to the Telugu version of “Ghoomar Ghoomar '' from the movie 'Padmavat'. So, once you listen to that song, you won’t believe whether it is Rajasthani or Telugu. So that version is mind-blowing. And then when we start a discussion with Chaitanya ji. His first narrative was ... it's not difficult to translate a song in a particular language, many of us can do it, but if you give the exact same feel at the start and end of the song then it gives tremendous energy and feel to that version. And we understand that this work can only be done by someone who has a lot of experience and good vocab in that language. So, after a lot of discussion and meetings with Chaitanya sir, finally, he agreed to work with us on the Telugu version of “Ghani Ghani '' with one condition: he wants the recording of the song in front of him. So we agreed for the recording part in Hyderabad and finally, the Telugu version of this song is all set for release. See as I have told you earlier, anyone can translate the song into a particular language. But what is most important is to grab the original feel of that particular song. So Chaitanya sir is very particular about his work. He wanted the English version of this song for proper understanding. And after proper understanding, a whole lot of sessions were there to correctly check each and every word that fits in translation. So yes, we got to learn so much from him and indeed it was a pleasure working with such a legendary person.

What can the audience expect from the music video of the song?

The audience will explore the rich heritage and royal culture of Rajasthan in this beautiful love story.

Musically, what can we expect from this song? How different will it be from your previous independent releases?

‘Ghani Ghani’ is one of its kind in terms of Royal sets, rich heritage, different languages, and much more to say. Yes, we have worked on an ample number of projects earlier and every project has its own journey and outcome. But this is really unique and close to our hearts. As we got to learn from writers, directors, and producers. Like every angle we have explored while going through the journey of this song.

How was Asif’s experience of singing the song in Telugu?

At the time of Recording, Chaitanya sir strongly emphasized the exact accent for each and every Telugu word of this song, He worked with Asif Urra (Lead singer) on the proper accent for each and every word of this Telugu version. So, after multiple retakes and discussion sessions with Sir…here we are with the final version of "Ghani Ghani".

Why do you think the fusion genre has become so popular over the last few years?

Fusion is a very broad term used for types of music that fuse two or more styles together in a strong coalition to create a fusion of the genres. Since Swaraag's inception, we are into this, right from classical to jazz. From Sufi to Bollywood. We touch and recreate our unique style. Check out our instrumental jamming sessions as well. We love fusion and that’s the unique USP of “Swaraag”. India has a rich cultural heritage. So, in fusion you truly get a feel of unity in diversity, That’s why it's popular.

How has the reception for your songs been in the South, especially Hyderabad?

Now in India there is so much reception for your music, if you actually connect with the audience, irrespective of your language. Whether it is east or west or south. If you are good at your work, people will wholeheartedly love you. And similar is the case with Hyderabad, People are so welcoming and showed a whole lot of love for “Swaraag”.

How important is linguistic diversity in music?

Here I want to quote an example of A R Rahman saab, when he performs live, he recites a single line of his famous song in three to four languages. And you cannot imagine the aura of the audience when they are seeing this live. There might be some people who don’t understand all of these languages. But what matters is the overall feel of this song. So, we have also covered the same in our new project ‘Ghani Ghani’. Hope the audience will like it.

What are your other upcoming projects for the year?

There are various projects on which we have been working for the last couple of years. So, we have complete hope that we will be able to entertain our audience with a new song every two months or so, And we have tried to keep the originality and uniqueness of each and every song focusing on different languages and genres.