Watch Singer-Producer Reena Gilbert’s Electro Pop Song ‘Intezaar Tera’ for New Release Series

Artists from different parts of the country showcase rock, synth-pop and folk hues for music company Songfest India’s new video release series Xplore that came out in December and has revealed four out of six songs in its inaugural season.

Kicking off with singer-composer Sarthak Kalyani’s evocative Hindi alt-rock tune “Saahiba,” the series also showcased newer artists such as Yavatmal-based band YTL-29’s finessed, anxious love ballad “Khabar Na Ayi.” There’s New Delhi-based singer-producer Keshuv Huria’s upbeat tune “Yaar Aya Hai” and most recently, singer, sound engineer and producer Reena Gilbert from Mumbai offering a club-ready synth-pop tune “Intezaar Tera.”

The six episodes were created after Songfest India – co-founded by singer-songwriter Gaurav Dagaonkar – received about 250 entries and had their work cut out for them. Dagaonkar says they didn’t expect that volume but his team did go through “most of the songs multiple times.” He adds, “As we did so, we understood the range and diversity of music India has to offer. Most of the entries were from artists between 18 to 30 years of age. The songs were across genres like hip-hop, pop, electronic along with a lot of songs in the acoustic, singer-songwriter space as well. We also received a lot of tracks that had their roots in Indian classical music, which was very reassuring to see.”

A key aspect they found was an emphasis on production levels across submissions for Songfest Xplore. “Most of the songs were really well produced. This shows that a lot of youngsters today are now seriously getting into music production,” Dagaonkar says. They picked six artists, produced their music videos and have released six new songs, along with providing additional resources in terms of brand collaboration opportunities, promotions, potential gigs and more. “We are even pitching songs of artists who did not make it to the Xplore series, where we feel that a song could lend itself to a brand integration,” Dagaonkar adds.

Kalyani says in a statement about working on his release, “Producing a video requires a considerable number of resources to be available at your disposal.  But when a platform like Xplore comes your way which gives you all of that and the freedom to create the music you want to, it is quite liberating. It encourages you.” YTL-29’s composer and songwriter Akshay Nimkar has been following Songfest’s releases for two years now and sent in “Khabar Nahi Ayi” (their debut single) for consideration.

Nimkar and YTL-29 believe this gives them a serious leg-up to be considered despite coming from outside the metropolitan cities. Working with lesser know-how and resources in a smaller town like Yavatmal, Nimkar says their learning of songwriting and production is slow and steady, but is glad that a platform like Songfest Xplore can give them the opportunity to level the playing field a bit.

Elsewhere, singer-producer Reena Gilbert leads with a shimmering electronic-pop Hindi song about an uncertain relationship on “Intezaar Tera.” At the end of it, there’s a feeling of missing someone, but she adds depth in a way that makes it different from what you usually might hear in the Hindi pop space.  A sound engineer who spends plenty of time in the studio with others’ music, Gilbert says she’s often hands-off when it comes to her own production. “I try my best not to tweak the sound too much in order to make the song better. I try to make the sound as real as I can. Since it is a long process,  I choose my sound perfectly so that later, I don’t have to tweak it. I know it is time-consuming, but I love it when the end result is exactly what I wanted,” she says.

With four songs out so far, season one will conclude with music videos for artist Shourya’s song “Tu Maane Nahi” – a track addressed to a former girlfriend – and Pune-based pop-rock band Metropeace’s song “Kuch Meri Yaadein.”