Nishchay Parekh grew up in Calcutta, surrounded by old tapes. Inspired by the music of Frank Sinatra, the tunes of Stevie Wonder and the genius of The Beatles, he started strumming a guitar when he was 12. By the age of 15, he had his own band and was already performing for an audience. It was, however, only when he started penning his own songs that he discovered what he truly enjoyed and realised what kept him interested. “I kept playing music, writing songs and listening to the work of other musicians. I learnt about the music industry in India, and realised, it’s not just about being a star; there are so many other facets to being a professional musician,” says the 22-year-old singer-songwriter.
“When I first started out, I was obsessed with acoustic sound. Now, I’ve moved so far away from that; I’m more interested in a heavily produced sound with lots of instruments.” Nischay, who has already launched his first album Ocean , composes music as a duo, with drummer Jivraj Singh, and uses synthesisers, keyboards and drum machines to produce his sound. “Every time we play with these machines, we discover new possibilities in a song. Since it's analogue, there are a hundred different things that can happen. There are no boundaries and it’s very inspiring.”
Nischay describes his music as a reflection of himself and mirrors the experiences he’s had. “It’s all intimate at some level but the themes, I feel, are universal.” While the lyrics of his first album, full of peppy and playful tunes, talks about animals, mysticism and personal relationships, he says he’s talking about broader themes in his upcoming album, which everyone can connect with. “I’m juxtaposing tangible elements of Nature like the sky, leaves and trees with intangibles like dreams, memories and emotions.”
He has played in many night clubs across India, and performed at music festivals such as Magnetic Fields, Rajasthan (2015), Covelong Surf and Music Festival, Chennai (2014) and all four NH7 Weekenders (2014). Yet, he says the most interesting stage he’s performed on was in 2013, in a bookstore in Calcutta. “It was an interesting space to play in and that’s what I want to do with the second album I’m working on. I want to play in libraries, and auditoriums and parks. It helps the music in some way; it keeps it fresh.”
Nischay has so far been shuttling between Boston and India, as he was pursuing a degree in music production at the Berklee College of Music. He recently dropped out of the college, and plans to finish his degree online. “I felt it was time to focus on my own music.” He’s working on his next album and planning a tour in support of it, at unusual venues. “We are hopefully going to start recording next week after we come back from our gig in Chennai,” says Nischay, talking about his upcoming IndiEarth performance. “This is the first time we are performing this set in Chennai; it’s going to be fun. We are going to play some new songs from the upcoming album and some older ones too.”
Nischay Parekh takes the stage on May 2 at Aqua, The Park from 9 p.m. onwards. For details, call 98844 93601.
