A new EP explores teenage love influenced by Mirza Ghalib's poetry

Rutvik Talashilkar, Murtuza Gadiwala and Kimera rehearse before a gig

Not many 20-year-olds will claim to have read entire diwans of Mirza Ghalib. Murtuza Gadiwala is among the exceptions. The 22-year-old from Mazgaon claims to be a fan of Irshad Kamil, The Goo Goo Dolls and the 18th century Urdu poet. His latest EP, Riwayat, does bear a touch of the above influences in its romantic verses.

"I forayed into music in 2019 with electronic music, but veered into scoring for short films," Gadiwala reveals. As a mass media student from Lala Lajpatrai College, Mahalaxmi, it was not until the lockdown that he decided to shift to full-time music production.

"There is the arc of a story running through each song. It is a story of love, loss and coming to terms with these feelings. I chose to finish it with the open-ended question in Mauka [opportunity]," he notes. While it was a form of closure, it is also a reflection of his listening styles. "My musical references range from AR Rahman's Rockstar to Goo Goo Dolls, and my sonic inclination organically fits into that space," he says.

Murtuza Gadiwala

The songs attest Gadiwala's theory. From the mellow Faisle and Tamanna to the rhythmic Mauka, there is a refreshing quality to the sound. Rutvik Talashilkar and Akanksha Bhandari's vocals to Faisle (acoustic) add to this narrative of love and separation. "The concept emerged from voice notes of my writings that I kept humming. I shared it with Talashilkar, before Kimera came in and work on the production began."

Incidentally, the EP also carries two spoken-verse renditions on the intro and outro tracks, with a touch of electronica produced by the duo, Lost Stories. "We [Gadiwala and Lost Stories] became friends when they had first held a workshop at my college about music production," Gadiwala says. So when looking for an electronic touch to complement the tracks, the duo was a natural choice.

The release of the EP marks a good start, but there is more to come. "I will release another EP with different versions of the songs later this year. It will be an interesting addition," he notes. It looks to be a good start, for now.

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