Hear Ahmedabad Guitarist Chirag Todi’s Jazz Single ‘Desire’ ft Tanya Nambiar and More

Before March this year when the world went into lockdown, guitarist Chirag Todi could point to his work with Ahmedabad jazz band Heat Sink (on their 2019 EP Euphony) and sessions at Compass Box Studio as testament to his songwriting and instrumentalist strengths. During the quarantine period, however, the 22-year-old artist went solo and collaborated with formidable names in Indian indie for his debut song “Desire.”

The seductive, groovy song features New Delhi songstress Tanya Nambiar sharing space with Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Pushkar Srivatsal (from Second Sight) and a roaring sax lead from Abhay Sharma from jazz-funk band The Revisit Project. Although there’s somewhat predictable rhymes of “desire” and “fire,” the song is rooted in flittering sonics thanks to Todi, who is joined by fellow Ahmedabad musicians including bassist Marc Damania and guitarist Dennis Johnson, with production helmed by drummer/sound engineer Divyang Arora.

Todi picks a simple yet inspiring theme for his first song; the process of creation. He explains the lyrics in a statement, “When the desire or conviction to create something becomes your vocation, it sort of ‘holds you by the collar’ in the sense that it gives you the strength to overcome any and every obstacle.”

The guitarist-composer mentions that the song allowed him to express his transition from “suppressed thoughts” to freely held opinions and what he calls “newly acquired liberation.” Todi is currently in the process of finishing up his solo EP, called Panodrama, which will include more collaborations and bring the total count to 10 indie artists from across the country, all jamming online during lockdown. Todi promises “versatile songwriting.” He adds, “From funk pop, neo soul, jazz to progressive rock, Panodrama is a diverse offering for the audiences. The EP is set to release later this year.”

Watch the lyric video for “Desire” below. Stream on more platforms here.