Exclusive Premiere: Producer Zen Clef, Carolina Norbu and The Earflower Experiment’s Resilient Song ‘Waiting’

New Delhi producer Zen Clef aka Rohan Goyal found two like-minded collaborators in Arunachal Pradesh singer-songwriter Carolina Norbu and guitarist-vocalist The Earflower Experiment aka Astaaq Ahmed to tap into their misfit experiences on his new release “Waiting.” 

While Zen Clef — who released his debut single “Memory Lane” in October —  has a production style drawing from house, future bass and R&B, he arrives at a memorable amalgam of R&B and dancefloor-friendly electronic music on “Waiting.” Featuring hopeful yet battle-worn vocal melodies from Norbu and guitar work from Ahmed, the song talks about survivors who remain resilient. Goyal describes the theme and says, “[It’s about] the unheard longing for a day to be free from the stigma [a] person is forced to live with, every day. It is a song of strength, patience and a realization that it is not us that needs changing — that isn’t us that needs moulding to fit the liking of society — but society, that needs to have a long hard look at itself.” 

For the production, Goyal says he started with the music and recorded himself singing the phrase “I’ve been waiting, for so long.” He adds, “This was the only phrase in the beat and I had recorded this because that’s the kind of vibe the beat was giving me.” Connected to Norbu via The Earflower Experiment, Goyal says the track has elements taken from each artists’ “different core sounds.” He adds, “It would definitely not sound the way it does without either of them.” 

While “Memory Lane” took the future bass route, “Waiting” is much smoother, slower and R&B-informed. Goyal says there’s more versatility that he’s seeking to explore. “What I have in store next is an upcoming house EP featuring some of my deep house, tech house and lo-fi house tracks. I’m always looking for more artists to collaborate with on future R&B music as I believe that collaborating is essential towards growing as a musician,” he adds.

Listen to “Waiting” below. Stream the track on all platforms from December 18th onwards.