Back to the boombox: How Gen Z is embracing the retro music aesthetic

At karaoke nights across Mumbai an unexpected trend is emerging Between renditions of Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift itrsquos not uncommon to hear the opening chords of Bohemian Rhapsody Mamma Mia or Billie Jean Even more surprising is whorsquos singing themmdash20somethings eyes shut belting out the lyrics like theyrsquove lived themldquoWe started the pub with the ethos of preserving the culture of pure retro and rock bars in Mumbairdquo says Rossi Shetty coowner of Road House Bluez which has branches in Andheri and Bandra and has karaoke nights every day ldquoSo seeing younger people sing songs from the rsquo70s rsquo80s and rsquo90smdashacross disco pop metal and rockmdashis not just nostalgic itrsquos fulfillingrdquoMayur Shetty top Ravish Shetty middle and Rossi Shetty bottom opened Road House Bluez with the hope of preserving pure retrorock pub culture in Mumbai PIC COURTESYRossi ShettyAccording to Spotifyrsquos 2024 report Gen Z averages 22 hours of listening time per day on the platform In fact during the pandemicrsquos onset in April 2020 there was a 54 per cent spike in nostalgic playlist creation and a notable uptick in streams of songs from the rsquo50s to the rsquo80s For this generation who grew up with streaming but lived through global uncertainty the warm familiarity of older music offers an emotional anchorTwentyyearold Akshita Maheshwari recalls growing up with her fatherrsquos Saregama Caravan ldquoIt played all the time My mom still has an inbuilt speaker at home and Kishore Kumar is on looprdquo She adds ldquoIrsquom very big on Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi Of course therersquos also Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar But Kishore Kumar would probably be my favouriterdquoJagjit Singh she says is ldquoa little too sadmdashlike that man has been through a lotrdquo but she swears by his lyricism ldquoWhen he sings Hontho se chhoo lo tum mera geet amar kar do I get goosebumps What do you mean thatrsquos a real line written by a real person for someone he loves Itrsquos so poetic that itrsquos astoundingrdquo she says with a laughLyrics are very important for Akshita Maheshwari who can be found listening to old Bollywood songs at any time of the day Todayrsquos music according to her lacks lyricism that creates an impact and tells a story PIC COURTESYAkshita MaheshwarildquoThatrsquos my big problem with music todaymdashthe lack of lyricism that creates an impact and tells a story Lyrics are very important to me Even if the beat is basic or the music is cloudy if the lyrics are goodmdashif I hear a line and think lsquoOh my god what a thing to thinkrsquomdashIrsquom hookedrdquo she addsThis sentiment echoes in the research of Rishi Pinjani a thirdyear student at Jai Hind College who studied the intergenerational transmission of music preferences ldquoThrough a sample of 125 people most of them from the 18ndash24 age group my study found that 832 per cent revisit old songs for emotional and nostalgic value Music isnrsquot just inheritedmdashitrsquos woven into personal experiencerdquoThe retro obsession isnrsquot just about sound A search for ldquoretrordquo on any music streaming platform pulls up thousands of curated playlists But on social media the movement goes deeper Gen Z has adopted the retro aesthetic wholesalemdashfrom room decor with vinyl records and Walkman replicas to music videos soaked in VHS filters and rsquo80sstyle fonts Bold colours vintage typography and analogue charm are everywhere ldquoI love the retro aestheticrdquo says Pinjani ldquoTherersquos something timeless about it and unlike most trends this one doesnrsquot feel like itrsquos trying too hardrdquoThis embrace of retro extends to indie music too where artists are consciously drawing from older eras to create something new Singer Shrea Suresh 25 who performs as Shrae recently released her EP Ajab Si Gypsy in collaboration with duo Donanki consisting of Parth Mundhe aka Pakeezah and Vedant Deshmukh ldquoVedant is a songwriter and we both wanted to find a middle ground to collaboraterdquo says Shrae ldquoWe asked ourselves what excites us both and the answer was oldschool music I love jazz and that led us to experiment with this discoretropop soundrdquoTheir creative sessions soon became a deep dive into musical nostalgia sifting through decades of classics to find a tone that felt both timeless and timely It was during this process that they stumbled upon a shared influence that would anchor their collaboration the trailblazing pop of Nazia Hassan ldquoHer music has this unique place for usmdashitrsquos pop but not the kind we hear today Itrsquos rsquo80s pop that still feels freshrdquo notes DeshmukhFor Shrea Suresh centre and duo Donanki consisting of Vedant Deshmukh left and Parth Mundhe rightmdashtheir latest EP Ajab Si Gypsy was influenced by icon Nazia Hassanmdashgiving birth to their discoretropop sound PIC COURTESYShrea SureshFuelled by that discovery they began crafting Ajab si Gypsy ldquoWe decided to do something nostalgic that still holds up in the current pop culture spacerdquo says Shrae ldquoUsing oldschool composition and production techniques but making them relevant today through the lyricsrdquo adds DeshmukhFor Robica Chaudhurimdashwho goes by ROROmdashmusic has always been shaped by the sounds of her childhood Her upcoming single Buri Aadatein set to release in the first week of May blends pop with garage amp electronic influences But while the production feels modern the lyrics and melody are rooted in the poetic storytelling of retro music ldquoBuri Aadatein was born after I came to terms with the fact that being vulnerable is okayrdquo she sharesWhile the production of Robica Chaudhurirsquos upcoming single Buri Aadatein feels modern with pop garage amp electronic influences the lyrics she notes are rooted in the poetic storytelling of retro music PIC COURTESYRobica ChaudhurildquoThe song is about unspoken love between two people who clearly feel something for each other but never say it out loud They both sense the connection but hold back For me it was about this one guy I really liked but I was sure that he felt the same way You know how it goesmdashyou start off as friends and then the tension slowly builds You catch yourself admiring them from a distance picking up on their little habits listening more closely when they talk And as the feelings grow so does the silenceFor RORO that quiet emotional spiral is inherently poeticmdashand painfully relevant ldquoThe problem today is that people donrsquot communicatemdashbecause keeping our feelings inside to protect ourselves has become a habit wersquove all somehow picked up So we just sit with them and overthink And that itself becomes a buri aadatrdquo she explains ldquoSo with this song I wanted to capture what it feels like to have a crush in todayrsquos world and express it through my own musical stylerdquoWhile many critics of modern music complain about the lack of authenticity soul and depth in songs Maheshwari notes ldquoTherersquos always been music that has not struck a chord with audiences even back in the day But now it feels like itrsquos mostly just that kind of music That shift has a lot to do with the algorithmification of music And songs need to be repetitive and danceable so they can go viralrdquoHowever authenticity in music today is being shot down by the bullets of virality and industry norms leaving indie artistes in a dilemma RORO like many others is concerned by the viralityfirst nature of todayrsquos music ldquoMore often that not major labels look for formula Not sound not skill Just what can be replicatedrdquoKaran Jhaverimdashwho goes by the stage name Tallzmdasha composer and music producer behind soundtracks for OTT shows like Gyaarah Gyaarah Showtime and Bad Cop agrees ldquoPeople today chase virality You hear one hit and suddenly everyonersquos making the same kind of song I do things differently I want to build a loyal audience by staying true to my sound Sure virality helpsmdashbut itrsquos fleeting One viral moment and then silence Longevity comes from consistency and maintaining your own identityrdquoKaran Jhaveri who goes by the stage name Tallz believes that music from the rsquo80s and rsquo90s had more soul primarily because composers back then werenrsquot trying to replicate tried and tested formulas of viralitymdashthey were telling their own stories PIC COURTESYKaran JhaveriTallz who also plays keyboard in a retro cover band called Raaga Magic sees this Gen Z shift as a return to roots ldquoThey say music from the rsquo80s and rsquo90s had more soul I believe it Composers back then werenrsquot trying to replicatemdashthey were telling their own storiesrdquoFor musicians like Donanki this desire for something less minimal and more textured was key to their sound ldquoOne of the big reasons we wanted to explore a retro sound is because wersquove all been kind of bored with the minimalism in todayrsquos Indian music Therersquos nothing wrong with minimalism but we were looking for something with more character and gritmdashsomething funkier and fullerrdquo notes DeshmukhIn Shraersquos opinion the indie music space has been stuck in a loop for far too long ldquoThe whole lsquosad boy with a guitarrsquo vibe has dominated the scene for the last few years and itrsquos just not something we as artistes connect with and so we do not want to replicate that sound even if it may be one of the industry normsrdquo she remarksThatrsquos not to say modern music has lost its relevance In fact itrsquos quite the opposite ldquoThe rap scene in India has exploded over the last two or three yearsrdquo says Maheshwari She cites the example of the song Raat Ki Rani by Seedhe Mautmdashit has a retro vibe that makes one think it was sampled from an old track But it wasnrsquot The song was sampled around an original mix by composer Ishaan Chhabra with lyrics by Dhruv Goel and vocals by Shaheen Salamani ldquoThe part that sounds retro is whatrsquos gone viralrdquo she notesThis isnrsquot an isolated example There is a growing trend of sampling or mimicking oldschool sounds everywheremdashfrom Tesherrsquos Bole Chudiyan remix in the song Young Shahrukh to lofi takes on rsquo90s Bollywood hits ldquoA lot of new songs are tapping into retro beats or melodies and thatrsquos what listeners instantly connect with It gives the track recall valuemdashit works great for Instagram transitions and resonates across generations I can play it for my mom and shersquoll vibe with it because it sounds familiarrdquoatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params