Hear Shweta Srivastava’s Piano-Aided Debut Single ‘July 19’

While Lucknow-bred and Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Shweta Srivastava flirted with music when she was growing up, she prepared for a world outside it to pursue her medical entrance exams. However, she says, “I chose to give it [medical school] up because music had become way more than just a lifestyle and I was not ready to sacrifice it.” That decision has led Srivastava to drop her recently released debut single, the hopeful and cinematic ballad “July 19.”

The new track began to take shape during the pandemic last year. The artist says, “I was fortunate enough to be with my family at that time, but many weren’t.” She adds, “They were tough times and we all saw the importance and significance of our relationships in a new light during the lockdown.” According to Srivastava, the song marks an event in one’s life that they want to go back to and relive. On the sonic front, there’s lush piano playing, gentle percussions and most importantly Srivastava’s elegant vocals and melodies. “The idea was to transport the listener into a world of their own thoughts with the song being played as a background score to those thoughts,” she says.

“July 19” was given its contemporary blues/jazz sound by producer Himonshu Parikh. “Working on the production with Himonshu was such a great experience,” says the singer. With this being her first studio session, Srivastava recalls how they faced a technical issue during the recording that no one knew how to fix. She says, “After 18 exhausting hours of troubleshooting in the studio spread across a week, we finally managed to record the vocals. It was a true debut rollercoaster!”

Next, the singer-songwriter is set to begin work on an EP and also has two more singles she wants to release by the end of this year. There are also collaborations in the works. “Lots to look forward to in the coming year,” says Srivastava.

Stream “July 19” on Spotify below and on other platforms.