In his own 'little zone'

He is one of the brightest stars in the independent music scene. Nischay Parekh, a young singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Kolkata, played at all four editions of ‘NH7 Weekender’ last year. 

He played in Bangalore again recently and is now all set to perform at the high-anticipated ‘Storm Festival’, which will be held in the City in January-end. Nischay will be performing along with drummer Jivraj Singh (of ‘Pinknoise’ and ‘Dualist Inquiry Band’) and is really excited. 

“It will be the first camp-out festival I will be playing at. It should be interesting. Bangalore is a great place for music,” he tells Metrolife.  Nischay has received rave reviews from many popular musicians like Vishal Dadlani. On being asked about this, he says, “It’s highly gratifying to see my contemporaries think that I’m doing something worth talking about. It’s one thing to have the listeners enjoy your music. But when it comes to musicians, it’s a different feeling as they know the mechanics.”

Ask him about his inspirations and he says, “My mother used to have an extensive collection of cassettes of all Western artistes. So I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra, ‘The Beatles’, Marvin Gaye and Louis Armstrong. I discovered jazz later. Now, I like modern music and listen to everything that comes my way,” he exclaims. 

“When it comes to Indian musicians, I like ‘Pinknoise’, ‘Shaa’ir and Func’, ‘Sky Rabbit’, ‘Swarathma’ and ‘The Raghu Dixit Project’ to name a few. Everyone is doing exceptional work in their own little zones.” 

Nischay not only plays the guitar and keyboards and fronts the Kolkata-based band ‘The Monkey In Me’, he even fronts a musical project under his own name that features collaborations with a number of musicians including Jivraj Singh. In October 2013, Parekh released his debut album ‘Ocean’. 
Speaking of his long association with Jivraj, he says, “I met him when I was 17 years old through a common musician friend. He was much older but a developed musician. When I thought of recording in 2012, I knew Jivraj had to play for me.”Currently playing various gigs in different places, Nischay plans to work on his next album soon. But he doesn’t have any plans to enter Bollywood. “I don’t see myself being a regular feature there. Of course, if there is an interesting or different project, I will be more than happy to compose.”
Having come a long way, does Nischay have any tips for budding musicians? “They must keep in mind that the people in the independent music scene are very approachable. They are easily accessible on social networking sites and interested in new music. So it’s important for new musicians to be proactive and get in touch with the musicians directly,” he sums up.