Aarya Releases Angsty New Single ‘That Guy’

After releasing two back-to-back EPs – One Year, One House (2017) and Roots (2018) – Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Aarya Gadkari (who goes by his first name) has since released a bunch of singles from 2020 onwards. He says, “It all happened during the pandemic and at the time it didn’t make much sense to me to release more EPs. I could space out my singles and release them when I wanted and devote all my energy to one song every time.” 

Now, Aarya is out with his latest offering, the upbeat and lyric-heavy “That Guy.” The new track – released via Times Music’s sublabel ffs. – was born while the musician was getting out of a relationship and according to him, this was the first time he penned something down being “really angry.” He adds, “I remember feeling really frustrated while writing and it was just a way for me to vent out everything that happened. I never like beating around the bush in any of my songs and this one was really honest, and it just sounded right to me.”  

Sonically, “That Guy” retains Aarya’s fast-paced vocal delivery as he swerves in and out of singing some sections and rapping other parts. The track is glued together by its punchy bassline while an acoustic guitar hook, upbeat drums, keys and other sonic embellishments add vibrancy to it. Aarya’s vocal performance stands out and his quirky lyrics (such as “While I’ll be serving like Federer for the championship”) complement the song’s buoyant beat. “It is one of my more upbeat tracks and I wanted it to be all about attitude. It travels through multiple soundscapes but at the same time also sticks to its roots of being a pop-rock song,” says Aarya.  

The singer-songwriter began work on the song in 2021 with his go-to producer Rahul Popawala. Although he was done with the track, Aarya held onto it for a bit and tapped Raag Sethi from Ahmedabad’s Compass Box Studio to join in for additional production on the single. “It was such a cool experience working with Raag for the first time, and the three of us together really got the best out of the track,” Aarya says.  
 
A colorful music video – directed by Ray Rajdip from video production house ALTRAY – has also been released, which sees Aarya performing the song at the beautiful Fort Barli in Rajasthan. The artist has more material that he plans to release with ffs. in the future and is also currently in the midst of conceptualizing his full-length debut album. For the time being, he says, “[There’s] a lot more writing and a lot more performing.”  

Watch the music video for “That Guy” below and stream the song on other platforms.