Hear New Delhi Composer-Producer Vaasudevam’s Soaring Debut Single ‘Aavaaz De’

For New Delhi-based composer-producer Vasu Sharma aka Vaasudevam, music has always been a means of expression ever since his patron of the arts parents gifted him his first guitar while in the seventh grade. “Rock and roll and blues [music] enraptured my senses and I don’t remember stopping since,” says Vaasudevam. The multifaceted artist went on to be a part of an a capella group, handle bass duties for a prog-rock band and even entered the realm of Hindustani classical music by learning the tabla and ragas. While specializing in audio engineering at the capital’s Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication (SACAC) between 2018 to 2019 the musician began work on his pop-tinged rock debut single “Aavaaz De” – featuring singer-songwriter Raghav Kaushik – which he recently released.

The track began as just a pet project for Vaasudevam who at the time wanted to pen down the hardships he faced after graduating from SACAC last year. He says, “I started meeting people in and around my field [and] I realized ‘Aavaaz De’ is not my story, it is a recurring story of every individual who has been introduced to constrained options since the beginning and who dared to dream [about] something unconventional and different.” According to the musician, the song is a request to call out to one’s yearnings and “to take one step closer to the dreams you never left behind.”

Sonically the track includes plenty of dynamism. From Vaasudevam’s prog-rock influences (cue English outfit Porcupine Tree) to Hindustani classical elements. There’s percussive acoustic guitar and a banging groove sandwiched perfectly between Kaushik’s beautifully controlled and pitch-perfect vocals. “We have synchronically worked through various gigs in our undergrad, [he is] highly trained in Hindustani classical [and] he ensures to bring a rooted zest to my music,” says Vaasudevam.

While in quarantine, Vaasudevam has been honing his guitar and production chops and tells us that “it has been a time of positive introspection” organizing his projects. In the pipeline are two more tracks which range from psych-rock to Sufi arrangements. “I have been working on solo compositions that I intend to release along with vivid collaborations with independent Indian artists,” says Vassudevam.

Watch the music video for “Aavaaz De” below and also stream the song on Spotify and Apple Music.