Exclusive Premiere: Mahesh’s Mournful Tribute on ‘Fading Colours’

Written about five years ago, “Fading Colours” gets a home-produced release from Bengaluru singer-songwriter Mahesh Raghunandan with a tender and signature soulfully enriched croon about loss.

The artist points out that he’d always had mellower songs in his set around then – including “Sleep” – but he didn’t want to put out a grim song like “Fading Colours” just then. “But then lately, now that I have a lot more time at home and working on recording, plus the whole mental trip of being in a pandemic – it sort of has an effect on you,” Raghunandan says.

Dedicating the song to all those who have lost loved ones before and recently, the lyric video features animation by Harshita Bandodkar of a man in a train compartment, passing by green locales and lost in thought. Sonically, Raghunandan was using English singer-songwriter J.P. Cooper’s music as a reference point and produced “Fading Colours” in a minimal way, including subtle string arrangements to add to the gravity of his vocal melodies and guitar work. “My approach to that was thinking about it as a live performance, even with the strings – I was trying to imagine those arrangements coming to life with me. It was very interesting, because you have limited resources but you tend to start thinking more creatively,” he adds.

It also worked as practice for when he’ll eventually go into the studio to resume work on his upcoming four-track EP Change. While Raghunandan was on a self-imposed break from gigging and music by the end of 2019, he half-jokes about how the pandemic and ensuing national lockdown led to an even longer break. Currently, he’s been taking his role as a vocal coach more seriously. Conducting singing and vocal lessons has certainly influenced how he looks at his craft as an artist too. “It’s a lot deeper connection [now], I’m trying to be in touch with the sensations in my body while I’m trying to sing.”

Watch the lyric video for “Fading Colours” below. The song releases on streaming platforms on October 7th. Join Mahesh’s mailing list here.