“Ek Shaam Tum” is one of singer-songwriter Murtaza Akbar truest compositions, featuring singer Zoha Zuberi

Murtaza Akbar new single “Ek Shaam Tum”

Singer-songwriter Murtaza Akbar new single "Ek Shaam Tum" narrates the real-life story of how Murtaza met his wife, which was perfectly penned by lyricist Divyesh Mungra. Murtaza worked with LA based producer, Will Saulsky for this track. Murtaza feels honored to have Zoha on board as a featured artist on this track and says Zoha's vocal dynamics on this track were absolutely on point. This track needed a sensitive touch as far as vocals were concerned and Zoha delivered that flawlessly. Eahab delivered the final touch with a perfect master to the track.

How did your journey in music begin?

My dad used to play guitar and as a kid I was always curious to play the guitar. I hadn't thought of singing until I got hooked to Linkin Park songs. Chester Bennington was my first singing idol. That's when I started learning guitar and singing through guitar and singing books.

As a singer songwriter, what inspires you to write your songs?

Most of my songs are based on relationship stories. I pay close attention to the various sentiments 2 people experience in a relationship and I use that sentiment as the feel of the entire song. Even something very minor is a potential story to me. The other thing which inspires me to write songs is the aspect of writing catchy melodies. I love melodies which you want to listen to over and over again. For instance, A.P Dhillon's track Insane is a melody I listen to all the time. I simply can't get that melody out of my head. That's the kind of melodies I want to write for my listeners.

Do share with our readers a little insight into your songwriting process. Is it lyrics before melody or vice versa?

Melody is always first in my tracks. I draft melodies based on the story of the song. Then come lyrics and then comes production. I'm glad to have worked with lyric writers like Divyesh Mungra and producers like Will Saulsky who are able to implement my ideas into a real track.

Tell us about your single Ek Shaam Tum and the story behind this love song. How did your collaboration with Zoha Zuberi come to fruition?

Ek Shaam Tum is inspired from my love life. I met my wife on Aug 9, 2015 and I got married to her on Dec 25, 2015. Ek Shaam Tum narrates the journey me and my wife went through from meeting each other to getting married. We still remember that time as the best time of our lives. I know it's cheesy, but me and my wife celebrate our meetup anniversary on August 9th. We dress up in the same colors we were wearing that day and we visit the exact same restaurant we met at. After I finished composing the track, I sent out the track to Divyesh Mungra who gave the song its soulful words. Then, I sent out the track to Will Saulsky for production. I explained the narrative of the song to Will and Will produced the track as per my exact vision. Once that was done, I reached out to my friend Eahab Akhtar to master the track. Eahab suggested me to get singer Zoha Zuberi onboard this song. Eahab then reached out to Zoha and she was super kind to accept this project and she sang beautifully on this song.

Juggling between a corporate IT sector job to being a musician, what keeps you rooted and driven to creating music?

Music is a passion impossible to give up. I could give a hundred reasons but the truth is that I just want people to listen to my voice and tracks. In order for people to listen to you, you have to work hard and that's the one reason I try to improve myself everyday musically.

What would be your dream collab with an Indian Musician?

Well, that's a very difficult question. First of all, I think all Indian musicians are simply outstanding and I have a lot to learn from all of them. But there is no harm in dreaming. I want to keep it short, but here's a few ideas of some dream collabs I would love to see happen for me.

A song like Stay by Kid Laroi & Justin Bieber with Armaan Malik or Darshan Raval would be super cool. I would love to sing for my favorite composer Amaal Malik. A duet with Neeti Mohan, Shreya Ghoshal or Palak Muchhal is simply a dream come true.

What's in the near future for your Desi Fans?

Well, I have 3 tracks in the pipeline. One is going to be a very sad song like my track Jhoothi. The second one is going to be a club/lounge style song. Last but not the least, the third track is going to be a solo love song. I really don't have any idea at the moment as far as the order of each of these songs is concerned, but I will definitely keep people posted through my Instagram.

MURTAZA YOUTUBE SONG LINK

You can follow Murtaza and Zoha on their Instagram handles @murtazaakbarreborn, @zuberizoha.