Watch Chirag Todi’s Quirky Dance Video For ‘Love Nobody’

Last year, Ahmedabad guitarist Chirag Todi (also part of indie band Heat Sink) released his six-track debut solo EP Panodrama. Since then, Todi has been busy refining newer songs and even toured across five cities in India. Now, the musician is out with his newest track, the glossy “Love Nobody,” which features U.S.-based Indo-American singer-songwriter Ramya Pothuri and Chennai-bred, Bengaluru-based multi-instrumentalist rapper-singer Ranjani Ramadoss aka RANJ. 

The origins of the song can be traced to earlier this year when Todi came up with the track’s guitar riff. The artist then showed it to Mumbai-based vocalist-guitarist and producer Pushkar Srivatsal (of singer-songwriter duo Second Sight). “The songwriting process started when I asked Pushkar to produce one of my songs. He liked this guitar riff and tried a couple of grooves over it,” Todi says.  

Once production began, Todi reached out to Pothuri to co-write and sing on the track. “I thought her style would sit in well with the vibe,” he says. Looking for a variation in the song, the guitarist says, “I felt the need to add a rap section and that’s when I got RANJ on board.”  

Overall, “Love Nobody” is laced with plenty of R&B and oozes with mellifluous melodies as well as catchy vocals and lush instrumentation. RANJ, on her part, delivers a blistering verse as Protyay Chakraborty adds strings and bassist Ralph Menezes holds down the rhythm section well with his tight groove. Todi says, “’Love Nobody’ is about being torn and bitter about the way a relationship has ended. It’s about wanting to move on and be unbothered, but you are bothered. There are phases when all you do is replay scenes from your past and end up hurting yourself. One day, you realize that you have got to love yourself enough to not let your mind play these tricks. That’s when you truly free yourself.” 

The song was recorded remotely due to the pandemic as well as the artists being scattered all over the place. Todi and his collaborators exchanged audio files via WhatsApp and jumped on Zoom calls to complete the project. He says, “The great thing about remote collaborations is that you can work with anyone across the world and in your own time. This helps me work on multiple projects more efficiently.” 

After watching dancer Srilakshmi perform at music festival Bacardi NH7 Weekender in Pune and being amazed by her ability, Todi reached out to her and asked if she would be interested in choreographing a dance for the song’s music video. “She took up the project and not only choreographed it but conceptualized, directed and edited the video too,” says Todi. Srilakshmi and fellow dancer Tom tell a story through their on-screen movement, as quirky and whimsical props assist them through their dancing. Towards the end of the clip, Todi and his friends join in on the fun and show off their moves too. “Both Tom and Srilakshmi are prolific dancers, and I had a ball being part of the same set,” says the guitarist.  

With two more singles lined up for release soon, Todi is also prepping to launch an album. The musician even plans on exploring singing on one of his forthcoming tracks. There’s a Hindi track in the pipeline too. He says, “For my next tour, I’m planning to get the collaborators to join in for our live gigs in their respective cities.”  

Watch the music video for “Love Nobody” below and hear the song on streaming platforms.