Raghav Mathur: Went from having number one album to paying to make my records

Washed in hues of red and black Desperado is in every way an homage to Raghav Mathurrsquos debut album Storyteller In this interview he says it was intended to be so as he had set out to see if he could revive the sort of music that got rsquo90s kids up and grooving He could indeedEdited excerpts from the interviewYou have been referring to this song as a comeback of sorts Why did you step away and what inspired you to returnI had been putting out records I also worked on something with Mr AR Rahman and had a few hit records here in Canada This song is an homage to my first album After its success my producer Mushtaq and I tried to navigate our way in the industry It was easy to get samples of songs like Kabhi aar kabhi paar approved but then the business changed In 2009 companies like VH1 were devoting only a small share to pop music Eventually we went from being the most influential people to not having the same degree of power The kind of work that I was doing in fusion needed a thriving indie pop scene which was no longer there Of course I could have done things differently to have more equity within the industry but the industry changed a lot too Because my music was not unabashedly Bollywood it was a strange place to be in This isnrsquot to lambaste anyone This was capitalism Companies like MTV were faced with the decision to give a platform of such significance to artistes like me where the budget for promotions are significantly lower than what would come out of a film house Filmmakers spend millions on a soundtrack We couldnrsquot match those numbers When you see who yoursquore up against for the same platform that makes it less confusing I went from having a number one album to having to pay to make my records hire my own PR team and plan my own toursMusically how would you say yoursquove evolved over the yearsMy recent tracks Maayara and Sufi are songs that Irsquom really proud of The breadth of my work cannot be spoken about without discussing them There was a yearning in me to explore a dark contemporary sound But what influenced me during the lockdown was that I had the time to see videos on Instagram and notice the renaissance of my early work While those who grew up with my music were nostalgic the new generation had also been making reels to my music I thought it was a good time to go back and see if we could create that magic again Also ReadSonu Nigam Live music a litmus testHow did you zero in on the Hindi song Chura liya for Desperado and did you actively think about making any amends to your style to suit contemporary listenersI did not I thought Irsquom in the studio with Mushtaq the guy who understands me as a creator and whom I understand and we decided against paying heed to anything We didnrsquot write to any brief or look for any influences Irsquove never sampled a male voice on my records which I did now for this song The way Rafi saab sits over the beat in this verse of Chura liya makes it sound cool Also we knew that we wanted Tesher to feature in it He had the vibe and was at the peak of fame after Jalebi babyAs someone who received a lot of love early on in your career how do you reflect on your successWhen my first album came out I had been trying to get a record deal for seven years In your early 20s seven years is a long time It was rough because I was staying in places like Los Angeles and London without money It was in those moments that I came up with those ideas and wrote those hooks It was validating My parents were incredibly supportive People might have wondered if they were doing the right thing by supporting me so from the familyrsquos perspective it is validating That motivation is back again because now Irsquom a dad I want my daughter to see what I experienced know what my legacy is and what I am all about