New Delhi producer Gaurav Raina Launches Solo Album ‘Grey To Silver’

GRAIN | Photo Credit: Sachin Soni

Nearly two decades into his career, Gaurav Raina has achieved nearly every form of success that a musician can hope for. Raina, who is one half of New Delhi electronica duo Midival Punditz, was one of the first Indian electronica pioneers to blend electronic beats with disparate Indian styles. With his new solo electronica act, GRAIN, launched in 2012, Raina continued to explore Indian sounds, but also began collaborating with vocalists and instrumentalists. Says Raina, “With Punditz, we made an effort to adhere to an ethic of Indian fusion. With GRAIN I didn’t know where I was going, I just knew I wanted to write in English and work with artists who understood me on a musical level.”

After a series of false starts and two years in the studio, Raina’s debut solo album Grey To Silver is finally ready for release. Says Raina, “The idea behind the entire project is to highlight how we judge art and music based on its level of perfection. That’s where Grey To Silver comes in, it’s seeing beauty in imperfection. Bob Dylan sang out of tune for half his life, but that’s what made it special.” Breaking away from the commercial aesthetic of popular EDM genres, the 11-track album explores a more melodic and melancholic side of electronica and features artists such as multi-instrumentalist Karsh Kale, fusion artist Anoushka Shankar, singer-songwriter Ankur Tewari, electronica producer Brooklyn Shanti, singer-songwriter Monica Dogra, among others. The arrangements on each track are artful but understated, with a stronger focus on songwriting compared to Raina’s work with Midival Punditz. Says the producer, “It’s unnerving to release your own record. Of course, you’re insecure about how people will react. That’s why you surround yourself with people who you trust to do good work.” Grey To Silver will feature tracks such as “Time To Restart,” “Imperial Forces,” “A Distant Rumble” and “Stencils”.

For his stage shows, Raina intends to make his performances sound as close to the album as possible, inviting several of his collaborators to perform with him in Mumbai, Pune and New Delhi. Says the producer, “We’re rehearsing for the next few weeks and we’re trying to make the show interesting, but at the end of the day it’s about the music. We just want the performances to be as powerful as possible.”

Watch GRAIN’s “Time To Restart” featuring Monica Dogra:

Grey To Silver Tour

GRAIN (DJ Set)
September 19th, 2014
Over The Moon, Hyderabad

GRAIN Live featuring Karsh Kale, Monica Dogra and Ankur Tewari; closing set by Sound Avtar
September 26th, 2014
Blue Frog, Mumbai

GRAIN Live featuring Karsh Kale and Ankur Tewari
September 27^th, 2014
Blue Frog, Pune

GRAIN Live featuring Monica Dogra; closing set by Jitter
October 10th, 2014
Blue Frog, New Delhi

GRAIN (DJ set)
October 17th, 2014
Indigo Live, Bengaluru