Lost Stories Talk New Single ‘Noor’ and Collab Wishlist

At the end of June, Mumbai electronic music duo Lost Stories launched their folk-pop leaning new song “Noor,” marking their second release since the lockdown came into effect in India and the world over. Featuring star producer-singer Zaeden adding a distinctive croon alongside vocalist Akanksha Bhandari, the song followed up the enormously successful collab “Mai Ni Meriye” with singers Jonita Gandhi and Ashwin Adwani, which was out in May and has since clocked over three million views on YouTube.

Lost Stories co-founder Rishab Joshi says, “2020 is going to be about innovation, experimentation, and lots and lots of new music. We have created a large bank of tracks during these four months of lockdown and it is now time to hone them to make them sound perfect before presenting it to our fans.”

The song also comes soon after Joshi and fellow producer Prayag Mehta were selected for YouTube’s Foundry program, which is guiding them with content and fan engagement. Mehta adds, “We have always believed in quality over quantity and Foundry will help us strategize our releases to reach audiences around the globe and our efforts to take India to the world will gain momentum. With Foundry’s support, we hope to create a mood for our content and add our story’s contextual elements to our YouTube content.”

Watch the video for “Noor” below.

The collaborations and remixes add their own clout along the way, as Lost Stories would perhaps testify. In late 2019, they put out a remix of U2‘s “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In Its Way” for The Eternal Remixes ahead of the Irish rock giants’ India debut in December. In addition to the likes of Gandhi and Bhandari, seasoned Sufi artist Kavita Seth joined Lost Stories for “Bombay Dreams” and they’ve posted remixes for Armaan Malik (“Control”), BTS’ JK (“Euphoria”), Ritviz (“Thandi Hawa”) and Euphoria (the evergreen folk-fusion hit “Maeri”). The wishlist, however, is never-ending. Joshi adds, “Since the lockdown, there are a lot of interesting indie artists coming up with a lot of amazing projects in India. Internationally, Burna Boy, Mahalia, and Rosalía are some of our collab goals for the upcoming projects.”

It was in 2013 that Lost Stories released their first album, Music for the # Generation. Around since 2009, the duo say they’ve always been hyper-aware of how much electronic music in India has changed in the past decade. Joshi says, “The scene has been constantly evolving; it gives you six months to a year to prove your relevancy. If you don’t hit it at that time, you’re out. 2009, the process was much slower. 2020, it’s a lot faster.” Mehta points out that they’ve used elements of Indian music in their progressive-leaning music for many years. He adds, “Although we have reinvented ourselves every few years, we have perpetually stayed true to our innate sound, which is earthy and melodic […] The potential and opportunities Indian elements present to world music are exponential and it is appreciated in all corners of the globe. We do not see this trend disappearing as its truly classic.”

Inspired by both, stalwarts like A.R. Rahman and popular singers such as Falguni Pathak, Lost Stories say they’ve always struck a balance between melodic and dancey, which is especially important during a pandemic. Considering no one’s going to a club any time soon, Joshi adds that there’s a shift in their minds as producers. “No one is going to consume our music at clubs for at least the next six months and the music we’re making now is geared towards relaxing the listener and providing a warm cozy space for them to escape into during these times,” the producer says.

Watch the video for “Mai Ni Meriye” below.