Striking the right chord

Young, unique and unbridled — these words aptly describe the 19-year-old Indian British singer and songwriter Reshrich. His tryst with music started out post the winning of a music show in high school. Fast forward to three years, and the young singer is raring to go — he recently dropped two singles Buy My Love and Moonlight under the support of BBC Asian Network. And looks like Reshrich’s on a roll already — Buy My Love, his first single, was labelled the track of the week on Yasser’s show at the time of its release. What followed shortly was the official video amassing over 100,000 views on YouTube. In a freewheeling interview, he shares the inside track with us.

“The music video is about me finding love in the city of London,” begins the singer, whose music runs along the lines of R&B and Pop. While he’s clearly had luck on his side with these renditions; pursuing music wasn’t an alien concept in the family. Speaking about his sibling Rika Darbari, who’s already a Pop sensation in the UK, he says, “My sister is a singer too, and she’s doing well for herself. And we are all proud.” Reshrich was born to an Indian father and Serbian mother, and raised in Northwest London.

With a rather grounded upbringing, Reshrich is mature beyond his years. “While growing up, dad was a consultant and mum a homemaker. I’d like to believe that through the freedom and support given us, we were pushed to be more responsible and independent since an early age and that is what I really admire them for,” shares Reshrich who’s raking in a lot of adulation for his music.

He is also very altruistic by nature. Speaking about some of the social causes that he’s an active part of, he adds, “I’m a strong believer in Unicef and what they stand for, their support and what they do in countries like Africa and India. My sister Rika did a charity song for the children of Syria and was supported by Unicef.”

With the changing times, many millennials are banking on their talents but Reshrich plans on striking a balance. “Well, I’m currently focusing only on music. Writing songs, producing them — there’s a lot of work and effort involved. And it’s not hard to juggle. It’s always about drawing a fine balance between the things you love doing and ought to do. I used to study in a music college in London, which gave me a lot of insight into the requirements of the craft,” says the boy who’s largely inspired by the works of Drake, The Weeknd and Ed Sheeran.  

Quite like most public figures, Reshrich enjoys impressive social media following. And, with the massive followership comes the trolls. Of which he says, “Before, I used to pay attention to the trolls online. But, then I realised that there was a delete button on Instagram so that took care of the comments. But, in all seriousness, it’s important to not get side-tracked by hate comments because if you lose focus on your goal you won’t achieve anything.”

Reshrich is now working on some new material but is soaking up all the praise that’s coming his way through his current offerings. Speaking of his latest single Moonlight, he says, “The track is a dancehall and R&B song still keeping within my pop roots but showing a development in my style of music, which sets me apart from the others.” And yes, the track has already made it to the ‘BBC track of the Week List.’

Tracing back to a school show which marked the start of his musical pursuits, Reshrich adds, “I was 16 when I decided to apply at a school talent show, and ended up winning. The love for music was always there. But this gave me the much-needed boost to pursue it.”

The young musician was recently bitten by the travel bug. Elucidating on the same, he says, “I’ve been to many parts like Croatia, Italy, Paris and the likes. But my favourite place to travel is India because the culture and places are very exotic in comparison to places like Europe and London. It’s a very different experience when travelling there, maybe because a part of me  will always belong there.”

His voice may have helped him find a spot in the limelight. But he also plans on exploring other areas in the world of showbiz. “I’m very keen on acting, I enjoy the creative space, how it makes me feel when they see a performance.”

Passionate about the road ahead, there’s something exciting in store for Reshrich’s fans. “I’m putting out new material slated for release in January. I’d like to wrap up the whole concept with a lot of intrigue and suspense,” ends the young pop musician, who loves reading, sweating it out in the gym and rustling up a storm in the kitchen by experimenting with his culinary skills whenever time permits.