Watch Producer Bharg Take the Singer-Songwriter Route on Confessional Song ‘Darta Hu Mai’

With the release of Sab Chahiye in 2021, the hip-hop pairing of rapper Rawal and producer Bharg took root and went far. Ever since then, however, Bharg Kale has been slowly breaking out of not just genre brackets, but also branching out to show his singer-songwriter side.

The first glimpse of that arrived with the release of his debut solo single “Darta Hu Mai,” an affable song his apprehensions about confessing to a good friend that he likes them. It runs the risk of ruining a good friendship, but in the end, the leap was worth it. Kale says, “It comes from a very personal experience. I wrote this song a year back with just my guitar and the feeling was of being scared to tell my crush (now girlfriend) that I like her. So yeah, the song is about that.”

Sonically, the producer keeps to simple acoustic-pop to reflect the relatable message, but he also calls on vocalist Vardaan Malhotra for an alaap towards the end, adding an unexpected Indian classical influence to “Darta Hu Mai.” Kale says he “something felt missing” when the song was initially done, which led to adding to the outro. “I needed emotions but without words and I knew then that it needs an alaap and Vardaan is the guy for it. I also feel that a song must not be too complex and everything has a place for it. The whole song is simple, but the ending needed a sprinkle of complexity, but only to the point it stays true to the song and the emotion,” the artist adds.

Kale was unsure of taking on vocals at first, but slowly built himself up with occasional background vocals and collaborations, like singing on “Pink Blue” with Goa’s Tsumyoki. Plus, he says people loved his voice and that kept him going. Working with everyone from Ikka (on his 2022 album Nishu) to Naezy (two songs off his EP Tarqeeb), Kale counts the past year as a great one for keeping up. “It was very different working with all of them, each having different ways of expressions with their own sonics. The key is to listen to more music and appreciate as many sounds as you can. That is how you hit the right spot. Just be open to sounds and art,” the producer says.

He intends to continue doing justice to all his roles in the Indian music industry, a space that he’s been navigating as a “great learning curve.” Kale is going zig-zag his way through his solo material as well, not necessarily giving it a singular direction that would say in the same pop space as “Darta Hu Mai.” He adds, “I think by being true to all these sounds, and giving your best to the music you make, people will see that and will respect it. Sab Chahiye was a great example of this. I will continue to have fun with sounds and songs and write more and sing more.”

Watch the video for “Darta Hu Mai” below. Stream the song on Spotify and Apple Music.