Badshah: ‘I needed to scare away safety and move towards experimentation’

You are known for your commercial sounds but now, for the first time, you’ve ventured into this retro synth wave sound in 'Jugnu'. What prompted this?

My latest song Jugnu is a progression, for sure. It's not forced, but at the] same time, it's not conscious. It is a natural evolution for me as an artiste to now venture into territories that I always wanted to but somehow wasn’t able to.

When you attain a certain commercial success, you want to keep replicating that. In the past two years, right before the onset of the pandemic, this thought came to me. I needed to scare away safety and move towards experimentation, because that is what pushed me towards being an artiste in the first place, and if I forget that, I lose the essence of the art that I've been blessed with.

Internationally, too, the synth wave has been accepted and in general if we look at how things are moving, I think we’ve moved back in time where we are sort of recreating the '90s vibe and those melodies. I think music and fashion run in cycles so it's the synth wave now.

What do you have to say about the current scenario in the music industry?

I feel that we definitely need to change our sounds and scene, because we're not competing internally now, as the music consumption has gone global, with the availability of high speed internet and of course all the streaming apps. So, I think we are competing with the world at large and that is the reason we all need to stand out.

Artistes need to have their own brand of music. Having said that, independent music, the non-film music space is growing at an unprecedented pace, which is extremely heartening because it gives the respect right back into the hands of the artistes.

Yes, originals are being created, but recreation and remixes are prevalent too. What is your take on that?

I think recreations and remixing were a phase which is slowly fading out. I am done with remixing. I did a few of them in the past too. But I am not a huge fan of them at all. But yes, if it is done in great taste, if it somehow enhances the vibe of the original, then it can be amazing.

Bollywood has had a big hand in your rise, don’t you agree?

It is the kind of music that contributes to your journey. You cannot deny the reach that Bollywood has. And it is mostly because of the big budgets. Bollywood films come with a lot of star power, they have a wider, broader reach because films and the actors touch people’s hearts, and that is how stars are made.

Having said that, you can't ignore the fact that it is a mutual process, it is symbiotic - you need good music in films and good music needs stars. The fact that I would love to have someone like Jacqueline Fernandez, who's not only a star but also a really hard-working human being, in my non-film song (Genda Phool) is because it helps. You ride on the fanbase and the reach that they have. While you cannot deny that bit, you also cannot take the credit away from a good piece of music...

The film industry is just another platform. If an independent artiste with a certain fan base does a film song which goes big in the Telugu-speaking industry, then he immediately gets access to a different family of fans.  Similarly, film people also get access to this kind of music. I think independent non-film singers will have greater reach in the coming years.

Punjabi songs have always been big as independent songs; nothing new there. But now it’s become a signature sound in Bollywood and is in almost every single Bollywood album...

I feel the industry needs to look at innovation, because where I come from, we don't shy away from experimenting, or putting different vibes out there. And that is the secret to our success. You cannot stick to a formula.

However, Bollywood tends to stick to formulas and I don't blame them because there's a lot of money at stake. But you have to realize that you are a mirror and you are setting a benchmark for music and entertainment worldwide now. You want to be leaders, not followers, especially with the sort of population and the sort of culture that we have. I take pride in the Punjabi music industry and also in the independent music industry at large.

Many of your chartbuster tracks are with Aastha Gill, but your latest release 'Jugnu' is a duet with Nikhita Gandhi.  How do you pick co-artistes for your songs?

I think it is the vibe of Jugnu that I couldn't think of anybody else but Nikhita Gandhi. I couldn't think of Aastha, but then for Paani Paani, I couldn't think of anybody else other than Aastha.

The soundscape of 'Jugnu' is unlike your earlier work. What went into creating this track, what was the process? It took you six months just to write the song?

I wanted to venture into the synth wave territory. I’ve done it once in the past with my song Astronaut. The synth wave space...brings back a lot of emotions and has nostalgia value for me...

The word jugnu came to my mind when I was sitting in my garden and I saw a jugnu (firefly). It was a beautiful emotion and it is symbolic too - you don't need a light, you have a light of your own! I was also experiencing this feeling of falling in love, and that's when I found my whole vibe had changed.

This is the first time you have actually danced in the music video.

I worked with one of the finest and most underrated choreographers: Ruel Dausan Varindani. All credit goes to him that he could come out with a step which did not look absurd when I was doing it... we both come from the same genre of hip hop. I was specific that I needed a hip hop-inspired step for Jugnu. I was blown away when he came with the hook step and I was blown away with the ease with which he taught me the step!

The dancers were fabulous and we rehearsed for seven to eight days. Then, when we went to Leh, due to the lack of oxygen, we had to acclimatize and then we had to rehearse a lot.

Do you have plans to branch out into fashion in a big way?

Fashionable, good-looking clothes inspire me. I have a sneaker obsession... And when you have resources to get them, you tend to splurge. I have a fashion line which I am planning to expand. It is niche and is called ‘BADFIT'. We have kept it very limited because I realized it requires a whole dedicated team. When I launched it, I literally took six months off from music trying to establish the brand name.

Language doesn't seem to be a barrier in the music industry globally. What can we expect from your partnership with the Universal Music Group?

Expect the unexpected. The scale at which music is going to be put out and the reach it will have will be unprecedented.  But I don't plan to sing in English. I don't want to do that because the whole agenda is and the fact is that I want to dedicate my life and career to this dream of taking Hindi music worldwide.