‘No need for music labels anymore’

Besides his ongoing four-city tour with AR Rahman, Sukhwinder Singh, the man with the most recognisable voice in the sea of B’wood music, is gearing up for the release of his second album after the first one way back in 2001. “After the first album, I got really busy. Then, six-seven years later, I had the urge to put together another album of my own. But things had changed in the industry and artists had started paying music labels to release their albums,” he says. But now, he is excited about his upcoming album with an international group of musicians from Russia, Germany and Morocco simply known as The Band. “You don’t need to rely on record labels and companies anymore. There is an alternative way to release music — the internet. And that’s all you need when you are passionate about music,” points out the man with the unique voice. “I’ve been working with The Band for Coke Studio and am almost done with half the album,” he adds. The singer has a lot of confidence in people’s evolving appreciation of music that goes beyond films. “Especially with shows like Coke Studio, people are learning to enjoy more spontaneous compositions. Indian music has come a long way from filmy songs. The style is very different now and music is becoming performance-oriented. Cinema will also pick up this style and music will be presented differently,” he notes his astute observations of the changing trends. He is also looking forward to the four-city tour with Oscar winner Rahman. The show is aimed at re-interpreting Rahman’s music over the past 20 years. “When you’re on stage, nothing is old or new as live performances automatically add a new twist to any composition,” Sukhwinder shares. Since each is a big star in his own domain, do they ever clash “No way!,” remarks the singer who has worked with Rahman for over a decade. “Even Rahman says that whenever I record with him, he feels like there are two composers working on the same song. There is no place for competition in music. Even when we perform, you can see how we bring both our best to the stage and the impact just doubles,” he says.