In case you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who Aarya Gadkari is- it’s time you do.He is an ultra-talented ex-Scottishite with the voice of an angel. At the age of 19, he’s already been on a TV show, done several gigs all over India and won the hearts of many! I sincerely hope that I’ve managed to get out of bed on my own by the time I’m his age. However, Aarya has been more productive and is coming out with his first and very own EP (small album) on July 6th. So we here at the Zeitgeist decided to see what he’s been up to during the gap year he’s taken.
Have you missed school? If yes, how much? “I have, I definitely have! I was passing by with my grandparents that day and I just told them how much I just want to go inside!”
What are your plans about going back to college? “Since my gap year is over now, I’m going to Warrick. I’m going to be studying Economics there. Then post-grad, I’m definitely going to pursue music, there’s no question about that!”
What tips would you give to someone wanting to take a gap year? “Now I’m no poster boy for education or anything. I just think that no matter what you’re doing, you should have a month by month plan as to what you’re going to do throughout the year. You can’t just say ‘I’ll take it as it comes’. Even my parents were worried what I’d do, especially since I was taking a gap year while they were living abroad and I was here alone. But, I made a proper plan. Once I got selected for The Stage, I was like ‘okay, at least June to September is covered. Then in October, I’ll do this.’ And that way I had what I was doing for the year mostly sorted, so I could make full use of it. As long as you have a proper plan, a gap year is not a bad idea.”
How different is it performing at the annual concert, in contrast to having to perform in front of an unknown audience? “When you’re singing at the Christmas concert and all, you have that certain belief and comfort level because although you never think you’ve performed well, people will come up to you later and say you did well, so you get some confidence. But being thrown out into the open is scary, man!”
How different is the experience of recording music professionally? “It was an amazing experience! But I’d literally be in there for 8-9 hours straight, just recording and it would be so tiring. But if you’re having fun and you love your work, then it’s just great. There’s a lot of work that goes into it because you can’t just go in, sing and come out. You need to carefully select each sound, like what guitar sound you want or which drum beat you want playing.”
How does your family react to all the female attention you’ve been getting? “My mom is slightly overprotective, but my dad was damn happy because females are interested in his son and my brother wanted me to give out his Instagram username if I won The Stage!”
Why is your EP called ‘One Year, One House’? Give us a little backstory. “So I’ve been working on the EP for the past year. And all the songs are stuff I’ve written over a period of like a few years since I was around 15.” (After that the interviewer as well as the ‘celebrity’ being interviewed lost track of what the question was and digressed, as we do.)
Can you give us a little insight into a few of the songs and what they’re going to be like? “So the songs that I write are either my experiences or the experiences of people around me. ‘Wasted for Love’ is a story about three of my friends from the point of view of one of them. Then ‘Mum and Dad’ is obviously, about mum and dad and I think people are going find it very relatable. Then there is this other song called ‘When You Walk Down The Aisle’. The inspiration for this song came when I was at a wedding and the bride was walking down the aisle and there was a band playing this certain tune over and over again. And something struck me then and this one tune got stuck in my head. So I took out my phone and recorded that tune right then and there!”
What song would you say is your favourite from the EP? “I think my personal favourite would be ‘Mum and Dad’. I’m just so excited for you guys to hear it! I’ve made a few people hear it and they were in tears. My mum started crying on the phone only!”
Obviously, you might have had days where you feel low and don’t feel like writing. What helps you get over that? “Nothing really. So after The Stage got over, I had the biggest writer’s block. I had so much content I could have written about, but literally nothing was coming to me. And once I was back from the competition, I slept for 22 hours straight! I’d barely gotten sleep over the past few weeks because we’d be up till 3:30 am shooting and then practice and then shoot. But even after that, I just couldn’t write. Then my mum called me and told me to come to Dubai. So I went there for 2 weeks to take a break and recover. My advice is, if you can’t write, don’t write. Because when you write with a writer’s block, it will not be your best work.”
Would you ever be open to releasing a song that you may not particularly connect with? “Out of around 40 songs that I’ve written, I wouldn’t want to perform like 25! I just don’t think they’re good enough, unless I really really need to- I won’t perform them because I’m not completely satisfied with them.”
How much did you love Ed’s new album Divide? (Context: Aarya worships Ed Sheeran) What was your favourite song? “Personally, I like ‘Multiply’ more. ‘Divide’ is a mind-blowing album, but I feel like Multiply really put him and his music out there. I’d say my favourite songs from ‘Divide’ were Perfect and Galway Girl! (to Aarushi) -You’re literally the first person I know that loves Eraser as well! Everyone says they don’t like him rapping.”
What tips would you like to offer to any budding artists? “My only advice is- don’t overthink it, just go for it. And learn when to put your foot down. You will be criticised at times, but don’t let it get you.”
Last but not the least, are we (your fans) ever going to get a song dedicated to us? “Not right now because I’ve got a long way to go and when I have a bigger fanbase, definitely!”
If you’ve made it so far into the article, you’re probably already a fan or just became one! Either way, from the above ‘interview’ we gather two things: 1) Aarya has the most adorable mom ever and 2) You need to go check out his EP ‘One Year, One House’ on Youtube, iTunes, Saavn, Google Play.
We hope you enjoyed reading about Aarya and we hope you enjoy his symphonic melodies as much as we did.
-Zara Humranwala and Aarushi Zarthoshtimanesh, 11A