Arko On His New Album ‘Tum Aaoge’: ‘I Was Yearning To Do This’

For the last 12 years, composer and singer Arko Pravo Mukherjee (who goes by his first name) has been delivering the goods when it comes to memorable songs in Indian mainstream music – whether it’s the Atif Aslam-sung “O Saathi” from Baaghi 2 or “Dariya” from Baar Baar Dekho.

If you ever came over to his house, however, Kolkata-origin Arko assures you that you’ll be hearing a bit of Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Bob Dylan playing over his speakers. In addition to Pink Floyd early on, the 41-year-old agrees that U2 was a “very big influence.” You can hear Arko tip his hat to Bono, The Edge and co on songs like “Soz,” from his recently released solo album Tum Aaoge.

Released via Zee Music, the eight-track album could well have been an English record, considering Arko first began writing in that language in Kolkata until he took to songwriting and singing in Hindi when he was 24 years old. Nevertheless, Arko brings a moody, mournful and stripped-down approach to composing on Tum Aaoge, heard best on the title track.

“Aap Ki Aawaaz” leans on acoustic songwriting, while “Yaara” brings in roomy rock that Arko terms an intentional homage to early 2000s pop and rock acts he admired, including Strings, Silk Route and Euphoria. “Tu Chali Jaa” has all the makings of a hit right from the time Arko’s heartbroken vocals kick in, channeling a bit of Strings and Lucky Ali in the violin-infused song. Arko says that the “individual style” that a lot of leading Indian artists had in the early 2000s is missing from today’s artistry. “It’s either Bollywood or there’s a huge amount of hip-hop and Punjabi club music. I think there’s no rock band that’s mainstream on the level that, say, Lucky Ali was,” he says. Arko quickly adds that although the “versatility is currently not there,” there’s a transition underway that’s bringing back individualistic artists to the mainstream in India.

Whether it’s his heroes from the West or Indian pop artists, Arko always saw them all while he was growing up and wished he got a chance to write, compose, sing and have his own expression. “However, my career started with films, so that’s a completely different ballgame. This [album] was always there in my wish list, and I’m happy that finally, it took many, many years, but finally it’s out. Finally we could make it happen,” he says.

Part of the reason Arko could put Tum Aaoge together was, ironically, because he was writing extensively with film soundtracks in mind. “In films, we make songs and wait for the right kind of film. Sometimes, we make songs on the brief of the producer or director. But very often, all my composer peers, my colleagues have song packs. We wait for the right film or the right opportunity to present what we think will suit best,” he says. While working on songs like “Tu Chali Jaa” and “Kaise Bichhad Jaayein,” the thought did cross Arko’s mind that these tracks could suit a film well. “But that’s a game of chance, especially in today’s music industry that’s going through a massive transition,” he says. To that end, it helps that the songs have done well on their own, with “Tu Chali Jaa” – which was written three years ago – gaining over 183,000 streams on Spotify.

It nearly made it to a film, but Arko says the director wanted changes in the lyrics. It wasn’t something he was ready for. Instead, he says Zee Music agreed to support the release of Tum Aaoge with “no interference.” Arko adds, “There’s absolutely no requirement [from the label] of making a hit song or a trendy song. This is just an artist’s honest expression.”

While his work on the biographical political thriller Emergency – the song “Ae Meri Jaan” sung by Hariharan with lyrics by Manoj Muntashir – finally came out at the end of August, Arko has composed music for upcoming films like The Sabarmati Report and Talaakhon Mein Ek, both starring Vikrant Massey.

More than those, Arko is excited about finishing up his first English album. “People have a hard time accepting me as an independent artist, I’m realizing that, but it’s a process. I’ve just started to have much more things coming up,” he says. Expected to be released in January or February, there are nine songs, each with a music video.