Premiere: London-Based Indian Artist Renao Yearns for a ‘Day Off’ in Summery New Song
Bengaluru-born Rahul Prasad went from having ambitions of being a badminton pro to getting into music production and songwriting. His new double EP ‘A Space Between Orange & Blue’ is out on June 2nd
Bengaluru-born, London-based artist Renao aka Rahul Prasad. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
Pop artist Renao aka Rahul Prasad delivers a midweek dose of escapism on his hopeful new song “Day Off,” releasing as part of his upcoming double EP A Space Between Orange & Blue, which has production fingerprints of Zach Nahome (whose credits include U.K. hitmakers like Slowthai, PinkPantheress and Bakar).
Known for the aspirational hit “Nobody” from late 2021, Renao – who was born in Bengaluru and is based in London following a music production course in Leeds – released his EP From The South in 2022 and followed it up with the funky “Moonwalking,” and songs like “Blind,” “Lifeline” and “Break It Down” (the latter three being part of the upcoming EP). With hints of alt, R&B and soul, Renao offers a single for the summer with “Day Off,” which was actually written just when “Nobody” was blowing up. He says in an email interview, “I think it felt really overwhelming with every label reaching out and it just felt like music was a job. I wanted to write a song about escaping that and just wanting to make music and have fun with it.”
The nine-track EP A Space Between Orange & Blue was made in a couple of months with Nahome, although it was “visually” ideated a year ago by Renao. He adds, “We had most of the songs in our first few sessions together and then spent a month or so finishing up. It was pretty stressful getting this over the line doing it all without a team but this project means the world to me and I’m glad we’re over the line and ready for it to be put into the world.”
While “Day Off” exudes a lazy-day jam with its cheery pop guitar lines and unhurried rhythmic patterns, but the rest of the EP pulls in different directions. Renao agrees the songs are quite different from each other, but adds, “I feel like they are all friends and tell a bigger story.” Songs on the EP like “Wild Wild West” and “Lake House” are more representative of the EP’s sound, according to Renao. He adds, “’Wild Wild West’ is the start of the journey and represents what I am trying to do within this industry and Lake House represents more of what I want from life personally. Both are just as important.”
While “Day Off” also comes with a music video shot in Los Angeles (out on May 17th), there’s also a listening session planned in London for fans and Renao hopes to bring the project to India as well. He says about plans for the rest of the year, “Definitely a lot more music to come this year and a few shows in India too.”
Listen to “Day Off” below. Pre-save the song here.
