YouTube and other platforms have taught many youngsters today to compose, write and become artistes or performers across various genres. With tutorials and mentors available to teach you anything online, aspiring artistes are keen on grasping whatever possible, to make sure they achieve their dreams. One such journey started in 2014, when Delhi born Sahil Sharma aka Zaeden, decided to become a DJ. His initial guru was YouTube, where he learned the nuances of composition and with his extremely impressive skills, he soon became the youngest DJ to perform in Tomorrowland, thereby making India proud. After five successful years of being a DJ and performing constantly across gigs and festivals globally, Zaeden has now taken a decision to quit that side of the world, and bring his learnings to composing and writing songs.
In a conversation with MumbaiLive.com, the young lad shares the moments he experienced over these years, and what the already successful and loved artiste aspires to become.
On being asked about his thoughts on the journey so far, he said, "I started with DJing and now I'm singing, writing songs and doing a lot more. The journey has been 'solid' and full of ups and downs. It all started when I got support from the best DJs in the world, and Hardwell, which was one of the biggest achievement. It opened doors for me and after that, I got signed by spinning records. The journey continued with me representing India at Tomorrowland and a lot more. With this song, I'm starting something new, with writing songs, doing something in Hindi and it is exciting."
We believe every journey teaches something. While summarising the same, he also shared the take away he learned from his experience as a DJ, and said, "I think the journey has been full of knowledge and learning, as I have taken away so many aspects, from achievements and disappointments. I'm really excited about what's ahead, as I'm looking forward to working with a new batch of artists, and I'm listening to a lot of Hindi compositions, work in our language; so learning every day is helping me. What I've learned over the years is to be myself, where I'm able to share my stories and journey. So, I always say that whoever is getting into anything new, be it any form of art, has to make sure that they are being themselves, as it proves to be the best. "
If you closely look at his Instagram posts or listen to the TEDx talk he presented, Zaeden expressed his gratitude towards his father for being supportive. Talking about how Sr. Sharma has motivated him towards pursuing music, he said, "Yes, he has been there for me always. My dad, who is a singer himself, has pushed me to do this today. Even before I started DJing, he wanted me to sing in Hindi, and I was young and always thought it was cool to listen to English and do something in that space. But today when I'm getting so much love and with this new journey I've started, I'm now living his dream. He always wanted to be a singer, but due to family pressure then, he couldn't do it, but I'm taking his ambitions and dreams forward, hoping to live it. He is more active on Instagram than me and he always complements on my achievements."
A few days back, he took to his Instagram account to share the decision he made to bid a goodbye to his DJing career. An industry where he made a mark did not excite him anymore as an artiste. Wondering what happened regarding the same, I asked him to share his thoughts behind this move. "I feel despite all the success I've received, I realised one day to do something new and I'm very positive about it. To be honest, for the past 2 years, I played at many shows, but it wasn't pushing me enough as an artiste, and that became monotonous and boring. I have written a lot of songs, and I believe I have taken the right step now. I started putting out covers and it got a lot of views without promotion. That was amazing to get complements, with experts and artistes appreciating it. I started training and I'm learning every day. Today I can't wait to share what I've written. I'm really positive about this new step and very keen on doing great work. As a DJ now I don't want to do this anymore. I would love to perform, but it would be the new side of me as an artiste," he said.
Ever since the release of the song, Zaeden's fans have showered a lot of love, and the man with a simple yet effective tonal quality (plus his cute charm) has impressed everyone. His recent release 'Tere Bina' has been got more than 2mn views on YouTube. Talking about how he composed this song and what does he emphasise on, while writing a song, Zaeden said, "The song was honestly done in one day. I had the tune ready and I took to it Kunal who gave the best lyrics possible and we recorded this in a single day. Kunal has the ability to write something very fast (in 15 mins precisely) and it all happened very quickly. The idea was flowing plus we wanted to keep it simple (as I believe in simplicity), and that's why I guess it happened this soon. Talking about writing the song, it all depends on my mood, because when I'm happy I like to write dance and cheerful tracks and I have written other songs as well. At the best, I can do is write and compose, but it also requires a lot of work otherwise, and I've been blessed to have an amazing team, especially my manager, Ayushman, who has supported and pushed me always. It's not just him, but the entire team which works really hard, day and night, to make sure I'm stress-free, whenever I have ups and downs. Soon I hope to write different songs and their release will be depending on the phase I'm in. I have my own way to make people dance and emote, and I hope it happens someday. For now, all I can say is we are working on some projects but I'll announce them soon."
His voice texture is unlike any singer we come across today, and it has the ability to grab your attention. But whilst talking about if this would be an advantage in getting him a golden ticket in Bollywood and collaborate with many other artistes, he said, "I'm happy that the vocal texture is different and I don't want to sound like someone else. I want to keep working on it every day and would love to sing for others. I have projects lined up with composers who have done some really good work and I'm looking forward to presenting something new. Talking about my wishlist, I would love to collaborate with Armaan Malik, Sukriti Kakkar, Prakriti Kakkar, and many others. The list is long..."
After giving his best in the DJing career and now venturing into this new space, Zaeden must have made a plan to achieve something even bigger. But what's his next milestone and where does he look at playing his compositions. Concluding the conversation, he said, "My milestone is already ticked. I'm so happy that the song is already out and it is being loved so much. I see people relating to the song. I'm not here for the views, but the love I've received makes me feel wonderful. And about festivals, my team and I are already doing some gigs and planning many more in the future. I'm looking at supersonic and other music fests in the future, but what I wish to do is have my own music festival in Mumbai, maybe not soon but definitely someday."
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