Hear Guitarist-Producer Raj’s Latest Lo-Fi/Jazz Number ‘Her’

At 13, New Delhi-based Rajkanwar Sodhi – who uses the stage name Raj – was gifted a guitar by a relative that cemented his early years as an artist. Obsessed with bands such as Nirvana, Metallica and Linkin Park at first, Raj soon began diversifying his interests in music by dipping his toes into prog-rock, jazz and hip-hop. Of all things, it was the pandemic that became the catalyst for the guitarist-producer to release his own music. This past May he put out his debut lo-fi guitar fueled single “New York Cheesecake” and is now out with his follow-up, the jazzy electronica offering “Her.”

The new track began to take shape when Raj came across a hi-hat sample he dug. “It didn’t take much time for me to come up with the rest of the elements as I already had a vision for the song,” he says. “Her” features the musician’s distinct lo-fi touch embellished with his crispy fretwork as well as jazzy horn parts that add depth to the music. Raj says, “‘Her’ seeks to evoke a feeling of belongingness and secure vulnerability in an ever-changing uncertain world.”

Raj also brought on board singer Sidharth Gupta aka Shoals to feature on the song, who brings his breathy vocal flair to the track. Gupta was the one who mixed and mastered “New York Cheesecake” and the guitarist says, “Funnily we’ve never met each other or even spoken over the phone, but have been exchanging our ideas and music with each other over many months that led to this collaboration.”

With more releases and collaborations in the pipeline, Raj is optimistic that he can keep listeners vibing to his music. He says, “I’m hoping I can bring a fresh jazzy lo-fi perspective to the Indian music scene.”

Stream “Her” on Spotify below and on other platforms.