By Noor Anand Chawla
Like many other talented singers and groups, Chennai-based boy band RAAG used the extra time in the pandemic, to work on their first ever original single called TU, which is part of a larger EP being compiled in coming months. This song is a soulful romantic ballad released on October 2.
TU highlights the pining of a lover praying for his paramour to return to him. He praises her and attempts to win her back through his music. “This song depicts the core thought behind the emotion we all know as love, which is such a strong emotion that you need two people to contain it, bind it and complete it. What one feels, the other understands, what one lacks, the other completes. TU is not a song but a feeling one experiences. The feeling of being incomplete without the other,” explains Pratap, the lead vocalist and composer.
Raag is an out-and-out pop band formed in 2015, known for its renditions of Bollywood songs. Apart from Pratap, the band consists of Soorya, who is the music producer and composer, guitarist Bhairab, bassist and composer Shoaib, and drummer Rahul. Pratap and Soorya met in 2015 through a common friend and instantly connected on their preference of musical genres and bands. They attended the KM music Conservatory in Chennai together and began making cover versions of their favourite Bollywood numbers along with a few musician friends. Since then they have performed gigs all over Chennai and India.
In 2018 they collaborated with the other members of the band and have collectively performed over 500 shows till date. Soorya explains, “We listen to all kinds of music – a lot of different genres and artists as well. As big fans of Coldplay, we listen to U2, Avenged Sevenfold, Dream Theater as well as a lot of ghazals and Indian film music. We believe our music is positive, hopeful and uplifting. We find inspiration everywhere and make music based on situations or things we experience. Ideas often come up during a jam session, or when we’re hanging out. It’s
different every time.”
TU is the first single from their debut EP – Unchi Udaan. The next single from this EP will be Befikar, which will be accompanied by an animated music video. The EP has been produced at Soorya’s home studio with final recordings being done at different studios across Chennai. TU has been mixed and mastered by mixing engineer Vivek Thomas. The song is available for viewing and streaming on Raag Band Music’s Youtube page and across all major platforms such as Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Gaana, Saavn, Wynkmusic, among others.