The pioneer of Indipop music in India that ushered in a new era with his songs-Raghav Mathur recently made a comeback with blazing guns and that too with a hot single Desperado, a sonorous cocktail of upbeat tunes weaved together in a foot-tapping composition. But that’s not all, the popular singer collaborated with the viral sensation Tesher who is known for dishing out bangers one after another.
The music video of the song which was released earlier this month has already garnered over 6 million views on YouTube. Besides being a certified hit on the popular video sharing platform, the song managed to pave its way into everyone’s heart through Instagram reels. As Desperado continues to grow exponentially, Raghav and Tesher interacted exclusively with News18 Showsha where they talked about the song and their collaboration.
Here are the excerpts of the interview:
What are some of the best things you have heard about this song from your fans? Or from the internet?
Raghav: For me the overwhelming sense of love, and the place I have in people’s heart that they’ve expressed in the comment section or in my DMs has been truly overwhelming, and one of the most heartwarming experiences of my life.
Tesher: The best part of the fan response has been seeing people share their memories of listening to Raghav’s music in pivotal moments of their lives. I can’t imagine how incredible it must feel for Raghav to see how much people love and appreciate him after 20+ years in the game.
Let me ask you about this collaboration. How did you guys know each other? Except the two common factors that you are in Canada and you both make music, what made you two join forces?
Raghav: I had discovered Tesher’s music through young Sharukh, and when I heard jalebi baby, and found out it wasn’t yet signed I did all I could to get to him, to offer him a record deal to my Own Imprint.. alas within weeks the single was well above my paygrade and nothing could make me happier.
The fact he said yes to desperado is a huge privilege for me. He’s a super talent and more importantly I do look upon him as a little brother.
I think a lot of people are genuinely surprised at the collaboration, but if you take a step back, there’s a lot of reasons why we are actually a pretty good fit creatively.
Tesher: When my music started blowing up a couple years ago Raghav very graciously reached out to show his support. About a year later he presented me with some new tracks he was working out and asked me if I’d like to feature on any of them. I chose Desperado because it had that old school vibe that we know and love Raghav for, and it also has a strong Latin influence which I loved as well.
So Tesher, would it be safe to say that Raghav has been one of your influences growing up? Since I can see that tonality of his work in your musical approach as well? Young Shahrukh is a fine example of that.
Tesher: That’s interesting that you see it in Young Shahrukh! I don’t think we’ve ever heard Raghav rap but I think that would sound super dope!!
Talking about Desperado, it’s a certified banger. It is so flavourful and savoury and encapsulates all the facets and trademarks of Raghav’s music and Tesher’s Music. It has that old school vibe but at the same time it transitions into this Gen-Z sound and then oscillates to a different tangent. So I am curious about the making of the song, the time it took and what kind of brainstorming went in the studios?
Raghav: MUSHTAQ (the producer) and I wanted to emit a feeling of danger a la smooth criminal ( Michael Jackson) and musically it had to be a jointly fitted nod to our early work together as well as the future. The thing that makes me the happiest is when people say that within a few seconds they knew this was a Raghav song. How lucky am I that they feel that!
Tesher: The worst thing ever is when there’s a random rap verse in the middle of a song that has nothing to do with the rest of the record so I really wanted to make sure my verse felt connected to Raghav’s parts. We did that literally by actually layering my voice on top of Raghav’s to transition from his part to my verse! I mirrored his parts by making sure I included some Hindi sections and tried to just continue the love letter-esque theme in the lyrics he had written. I’m really just doing his parts except from a rap perspective.
So something that I observed about the song when I first heard it for the first time, it felt like a cocktail of tunes similar to some of the songs I might have heard at some point in my life but I can’t recall, so did you guys consciously bring that effect in Desperado or did it organically happen?
Raghav: No. but I’m happy to hear that, unintended familiarity is a sign to me that it triggers emotions of recognizability without actually consciously doing that. Don’t forget MUSHTAQ, Tesher and I are fans as well…
Tesher: I think all commercially successful music is a cocktail of influences. Variety makes music more exciting, engaging, and most importantly, more accessible to more people around the world. A lot of the credit for the record sounding so diverse goes to the legendary Mushtaq who produced the song. He did the music on Raghav’s Storyteller album and so having him back alongside Raghav is only right!
Now Desperado is touted as a comeback song for you Raghav, having said that, there must have been a lot of nervousness and anxiety prior to making the song public for the entire world to listen to, so what was your state of mind a day or two before the song’s release? Did you get any intrusive thoughts like what if people don’t vibe to, what if people don’t accept it?
Raghav: Yes, frankly I’m still nervous. What I’m trying to do here is undo all the doubt of whether this was possible during my 30’s, but actioning it in my 40’s but I tell my 7 year old daughter Riya she can do whatever she wants. What a hypocrite I would be if I didn’t live by that fearlessness I’m trying to teach her.. so nervousness be damned! I’m either gonna do it, or I’m gonna die trying.
As much as I loved the song, the music video also did a flawless job by accentuating it’s aura, how did you guys go about that? The visual story for a song like this? And I also noticed that Raghav holds a cigar in his hands but he never lights it up? Why didn’t you light it up?
Raghav: Haha, the cigar is simple, we filmed the video in a heritage home protected by the Canadian Government. If I lit up that cigar I’d be conducting this interview from jail right now.. the video was ambitious and hard to pull off with an independent budget but what we lacked in major label funding we made up for in the love, passion of the team. Tesher’s manager Divya poured her whole heart into it, as did Tesher himself; the crew was superb and everyone was on the same page for the most part. It wasn’t easy but we tried to do something special, not just bottles and models as Tesher says. I hope time proves that we did get it right !
Tesher: I’d like to believe Raghav didn’t light up the cigar to make sure the censor board in India would allow the video to air on TV without the “smoking is injurious to health” warning throughout the whole video.
The era of social media is a boon and bane for Indie artists. It’s a boon because your music reaches everyone and has the potential to become a viral sensation, it’s also a bane because I know many artists whose songs might be good but they don’t gain traction. Similarly a poorly made song or an average song might become a hit. So considering all the factors and unpredictable landscape of social media, did you guys ever feel the pressure of dishing out viral songs? And whether that pressure of going viral dictates how your music gonna sound?
Raghav: Time…time allows real art to win. No winners are decided in the short term. That hasn’t changed. My heart dictates my sound. Full stop.
Tesher: I can’t allow that kind of thinking to permeate my creative process because it will inevitably lead to disappointment. Every song I made that went viral isn’t one I imagined going viral nor was it one created with the intention of going viral. I just go in and make music I think is dope – that’s all I can really control so there’s no point worrying about anything else!
What are your guys thoughts on artists belonging from South Asian Communities and their representation In the American music industry? Are they given due recognition and platform?
Raghav: I think recent times show us more clearly just how disparate the opportunities are for people of colour in the entertainment business compared to others. I’m still processing what I’ve been through myself while grateful for what I’ve accomplished . It’s nuanced.. but look, the world has changed so much. If Arijit Singh woke up with most western artists streaming numbers .. he’d be crushed … it’s more of a meritocracy in some ways.. there’s work to do.. and all of us in the arts are doing our bit to keep things on the road towards progress .
Tesher: It’s getting a lot better. I can personally tell you that Jalebi Baby turned the heads of many label executives and renewed interest in our community’s potential in mainstream America. Now it’s up to our artists to step up to the plate and make music that can take hold of the entire world, not just other brown people.
So Tesher, you recently met Shah Rukh Khan, how did that meetup go? What did you guys talk about and what kind of things did he have to say about your song Young Shah Rukh?
Tesher: Shahrukh sir is one of the nicest and most considerate people I’ve ever met. No other king has ever deserved the title more than King Khan. We’ve spoken a few times over the years but finally got to hang out in person in Dubai which was awesome. And yes, he likes the song!
So Raghav, now that you finally made a comeback and the song is a hit, how do you plan to move ahead with the momentum you’ve got? Will you be open to more collaboration? Whether we’ll see you and Tesher again in a different song? What’s the plan now?
Raghav: I’d love to work with Tesh again. That’s up to him. As far as what’s coming, it’s weeks away, not months. This time I haven’t comeback to go away!
What about you Tesher? What are some of the exciting things we’ll be hearing from you? What’s the possibility of Raghav joining in one of your future songs?
Tesher: My next big solo single comes out on June 2. It’s been such a wild journey building from Young Shahrukh to Jalebi Baby to now this new 3rd song. It’s very experimental but I think people will love it! And yes, there will for sure be another Raghav x Tesher collab. Canadians stick together!
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