Nischay Parekh Spins New EDM Pop Dreams

Parekh gets into the studio for his new album
Photo Credit: Naman Saraiya

Over the last year, Nischay Parekh has made a significant mark for himself riding on the back of his debut effort Ocean. In what has been a fantastic season for Indian alternative music, young Parekh has carved a niche for himself, along with his band mem­bers George Dylan and Jivraj Singh. While the trio is now down to a duo (as it was in its original form), owing to Dylan’s departure to Canada, things look far from dull in the dreamy, pop-soaked world of the Kolkata musician’s camp.

Before his return to Berklee College of Music in May, to dive into the third semes­ter of his college degree, Parekh has work to do. “We hope to do some solid groundwork,” he admits. The 21-year-old singer has sever­al projects lined up. First up, there’s a remix compilation in the pipeline comprising re­worked songs from his debut Ocean. For this project, Parekh has roped in producers such as Sandunes, Big City Harmonics, Frame/Frame and Ox7gen to create versions of his tracks. Of course, there are some songs that are not “lending them­selves well for a remix,” Parekh says, referring to his single “I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll.” Parekh met and spoke to these producers over the last few months, during his extensive touring sched­ule and hopes to release the compilation to­wards the end of March.

The new album will be a more collab­orative effort, says the singer, who has al­ready begun work on it with Singh. “While the music on Ocean was written over a lot of years, and was fairly personal; the new record will have stuff that is more recent and definitely more outward looking,” says Parekh. The duo has been performing some of the work-in-progress songs including “Sunbeam,” “Hundred Shadows,” “Particle Physics” and “Mister E.” While the songs lead off from the same trail as the debut album, there is a definitive shift in the sound with the use of analog synths, percussive elements and draws from trap and drum n’ bass, which will lend it a more clubby feel.

There’s also The Monkey In Me, Parekh’s band formed while the singer was still in school. While The Monkey In Me bagged the prestigious Toto Funds The Arts Award for Music, last month, the pop-rockers gig much lesser in comparison to Parekh’s solo project. While there was talk of an album from the group, a double one in fact, “it’s all up in the air right now,” says Parekh. But that’s just one project less for Parekh who has a packed year ahead.

This article appeared in the March 2014 issue of ROLLING STONE India.