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Interviews New Music Videos

Vineet Leaps Into a ‘Music Multiverse’ with Comic Book and Video for New Song ‘Run! Run! Run!’

The pop artist’s latest turn is an energetic tune suited for cardio workouts, while he’s also created a superhero named Run Storm

May 30, 2023
Rolling Stone India - Google News

Vineet Singh Hukmani in a still from his video for "Run! Run! Run!"

Delhi NCR artist Vineet Singh Hukmani might be singing “Run! Run! Run!” on his new single as though he was a coach training every listener, but he takes his vision much further by introducing a superhero named Run Storm and a storyline that is ripe for more adventures, starting with an animated video.

While “Run! Run! Run!” is described by the artist as a sports anthem of sorts, Vineet focuses more on what he’s claiming to be the “world’s first music multiverse” created with this project. “This is an open invitation to all independent musicians globally and in India to join this music multiverse and use their artist personas to create multiversal characters based on their music and take the story further along with me! This will create fabulous collective momentum with audiences,” the artist says in an email interview.

Driven by a funky bassline and resolute vocal lines, the song comes with a music video that sees Hukmani show up at a park and transform into Run Storm and begins running in search of “hope energy” from the Hope Star to bring back to earth. In addition to a comic book and music video out with the song, Hukmani promises there will be a videogame as well to expand the world of Run Storm.

The song was inspired by how “hope began to come back and energized” Hukmani when he went on a run in early 2023, his first since recovering from a viral fever. Discovering the Dolby Atmos technology for mixing also led the artist towards thinking about how to make his songs more “immersive.” He adds that after teaming up with Dolby India, the stereo version of “Run! Run! Run!” has been upgraded using “4D stereo techniques with binaural panners and direction mixers.”

Just as the search for a Hope Star is symbolic of hope in Hukmani’s music multiverse, the villain is named Dejectra, taking after the feeling of dejection. The entire process of going from music to a comic book to an animated video felt rewarding for the artist. He says, “I feel a tremendous sense of accessibility and liberation, which felt out of reach for a long time, for an independent musician.”

For Hukmani, storytelling isn’t new, considering he released a book to accompany his debut album Nine in 2022. Drawing from his experience in branding and advertising, there’s an automobile company tied into video, while actor/model Milind Soman too bumped “Run! Run! Run!” Hukmani adds about the project so far, “I feel all the learning is well applied.” With the comic book, he says the “limitless multidimensional craziness” seen in the format was a big draw in creating his own superhero storyline.

While the animated video does take viewers through different terrains as Run Storm rises to a new challenge, there’s a certain sense of static that may not fully live up to the vividness of the comic book. Hukmani explains his creative direction of the video, “Animation costs are primarily based on ‘man hour’ expenses. If you have detailed things out and know exactly what you need, it need not be expensive at all. I am a very ROI [return on investment] driven musician! The realities of ‘cost’ have taught me how to learn and do the majority of the work myself.”

With the creation of the “music multiverse,” he believes artists can share costs and “create something bigger that what we are individually” through collaborating. This project remains a focus for the artist through the year, along with finding takers to adapt the stories off Nine for movies, series or graphic novels. He adds, “I want to continue, as before, to create songs in genres I have not done before […] I am now very curious about the world music genre and want to create something very ear/radio-friendly but by fusing the mysticism, even spirituality of Indian classical instruments and vocals, with my style of songwriting.”

Watch the video for “Run! Run! Run!” below. Stream the song and buy the comic book here.