Exclusive Premiere: GrapeGuitarBox’s Heartwarming Reminiscence on ‘Meant To Be Yours’

After singing about toxic relationships (“Run”) and calling on interpretive dancers to tell a queer love story (“Wait For You”), Bengaluru-bred, London-based singer-songwriter Teenasai Balamu aka GrapeGuitarBox says the latest track “Meant To Be Yours” is the “first openly gay love song” they wrote.

Featuring colorful violin (Krishna Raj) and cello (Shadroch Henry), plus a jovial horn section from Melvin Manoharan, “Meant To Be Yours” is the third single off GrapeGuitarBox’s EP Out, which is being released track by track. Considering they’ve given previous singles the video treatment, Balamu – who is currently pursuing a Masters in Music degree in London – was sure that this track too would be put out with visual accompaniment.

The creation of this video, according to the artist, started when the coronavirus pandemic meant a global lockdown and Balamu was unable to fly home to Bengaluru for an Easter break. “All this time indoors got me thinking, and I ended up queuing my third single. And with the help of my partner, I made a cutesy, homemade music/lyric video,” they say. In the process of finding phone footage and gathering videos of friends goofing off and just bonding, Balamu came across “the people and places I missed he most at a time like this.”

Through the video, Balamu relives moments as they wait to create new ones “after all this settles,” referring to the lockdown. Considering the coursework, it’s not surprising that “Meant To Be Yours” has arrived six months after “Wait For You.” Balamu admits they’re guilty of stretching out the release plans way longer than intended, but says it’s often a process of making sure things are “good enough to be put out.”

The way the singer-songwriter sees it, the six-track EP is a way of experimenting with release plans and methods as much as possible, plus being able to work with different people. Balamu adds, “I have three songs left, and I believe that I will release them all over the course of the next six months or so. One of the most important things for me is putting out some queer & brown representation out there. So, the plan for now is to use the lockdown to finish off my assignments, roll up my sleeves and make the next half of EP happen.”

Watch the video for “Meant To Be Yours” below.