There are several singers and performers trying to make it big in Indian music industry. While some have achieved, many are still trying to pave their way in this tough world. One such singer is Aaryan, who grew up in a household where in his everyday life he heard well-composed music of artists from around the world. His passion for music started with listening to the likes of Dire-Straits, Jon Bon Jovi and John Mayer in school.
Aaryan is now a Mumbai based singer trained in Hindustani classical music. He is currently under the mentorship of a renowned Hindustani Classical singer Sri ‘Kumar Mukherjee’ who belongs to the ‘Kasur Patiala Gharana’. In an exclusive interview with Mumbai Live, he talks about his journey, struggle, aspiration and a lot more.
He did his under-graduation in Sport Management (BSc (HONS)) from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, UK though also pursued his music whilst he was there. Talking about how he moved from his chosen field of studies to singing, he said, "I have been playing sports (cricket and football) all my life and so I did sports management as a course. During that time, I started performing and singing, because it was my passion. I come from a business background, and so it wasn't easy to tell my parents initially. But eventually, when I told them, they supported me and here I'm today, as a musician for the last two years (since 2017)."
Though "Mark Knophler" (Dire Straits) was the one that made him pick up the guitar, Aaryan began singing (not professionally) at an early age and could grasp a song very quickly. He sang pretty difficult numbers even at a young age but did not come out as a singer then. Sharing his story about the first break, he said, "I was studying in the UK and was also singing in open-mic and such events. These opportunities gave me the confidence that I can make it a professional. The audience liked my voice motivated me. When I moved to Kolkata, I took the step to take it professionally, and since the last 1.5 years it has been great. Zee Music has helped me grow, and now I'm also trying composing music too. Singing was my passion, but this growth has helped me develop skills like composing and writing. I want to give good music to the country. I have learned singing and it comes naturally to me. That is the easiest of all. Having said this, there are challenges in writing or composing. But I don't find anything tough. I manage to make my way through."
After coming back to INDIA, Aaryan saw more opportunities in Music and decided to pursue his childhood dream "to be a singer". He then formed a band and named it "The Bombay Gramophone Company" giving credit to Bombay (now Mumbai) since TBGC covered Bollywood music. Aaryan with “The Bombay Gramophone Company’ has performed in various venues in Kolkata as well as other metros in India. He has performed in numerous college fests, corporate shows, marriages, charity shows, major clubs and other private properties in India. He has also performed at music launches of movies, Drishtikon (Bengali Film) being the latest one.
Even though he is trained in Hindustani classical, Aaryan faced challenges, alike other musicians, during the initial days. Taking us through the journey and this thoughts on what struggle the industry (including artistes like him) face, he said, "YouTube is one of the best platforms to promote an artiste, and many singers have made the most of it. Earlier the challenge was to be known and today it is possible without anyone's help. So everybody is becoming a singer, including actors. Having said that, I also believe that the platform is being misused by people who do not have the craft as are making it difficult for others to distinguish the right talent. I faced it initially but even today I'm not very used to YouTube. I would like to believe I'm different and haven't been compared to anyone. The challenge when I was new to Mumbai, was to find out the right contact who can give you a push in the career. It was a struggle for few months, but when the label helped me with the song, it was a sigh of relief, as it gave me the much-needed growth. It was frustrating but I was happy when it released."
TBGC made quite a name for themselves in Kolkata, but Aaryan had bigger dreams. Today, he is an independent Artist based in Mumbai and recently collaborated with the 'Zee Music company' for his latest composition. Concluding the conversation by sharing his inspiration and aspirations, Aryan said, "I admire John Meyer's style of composing, writing and his skills as a musician. I follow him a lot. Sonu Nigam is my favourite among the Indian musicians. I would like to sing the kind of songs he has been a part of. I think my voice would suit such compositions. Talking about aspirations, I would like to do something different in the space, and not follow the trend. I'm versatile as I can sing songs from different genres. I want to contribute something different to the Indian music industry. I'm working very hard on it and I'm sure I will be able to achieve it."
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