The wait for Hyderabad-based Band Vivid is finally over; its musicians Rishabh Naidu and Krishna Praneeth recently dropped their first original ‘Kalla Kalla’ on Spotify. ‘Kalla’ meaning akela (alone, in Punjabi) captures the agony of unrequited love through Rishabh’s voice, interspersed with Praneeth’s guitar strings.
Evolving vision
Cover photo of ‘Kalla Kalla’ | Photo Credit: special arrangement
Since its launch in 2016, the band has seen multiple line-ups, says Praneeth, a music teacher at Shantiniketan International School, Bachupally who joined the band in February 2023., “Initially, it was a platform for hobby musicians to jam together, then scale up and perform their favourite music. With the changing lineup of musicians, the band’s vision also evolved.” This pair of full-time musicians hope to widen their horizons by doing more live shows and launching originals.
The duo perform during a concert | Photo Credit: special arrangement
While Rishabh is the main vocalist, Praneeth aka ReBeLlIoN on stage, plays bass guitar and backing vocals. The duo also uses drum pedals when performing. With ‘Be Vivid, Be Yourself’ as its tagline, the band’s music pulsates with raw energy to depict who they are — ‘real, human and us.’ “Own your identity and life! That’s the only journey that matters! “ Their bagful of Hindi and Telugu melodies resonate with the beauty of life and embrace different emotions that life throws at them.
On the melodic side
Krishna Praneeth and Rishabh Naidu | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Melody is their strength, so their shows start with a few slow numbers. “We are majorly on the melody side to get the audience in a relaxed mood and evoke happy feelings, but soon we take them into a trance with upbeat dance numbers.” The Hindi and Telugu covers of songs from movies and other music bands — ‘Asha Pasham’ from Care Of Kancharapalem and ‘Sach keh raha hai deewana’ from Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein, Indian Ocean’s Bande, Kaantha by Masala Coffee and Maya by Chowraasta strike a chord at pubs in Hyderabad and at a couple of performances in Goa and Vijayawada. The ‘Sach keh raha hai...’ song often accompanies an imaginary story. “The narrative touches hearts with every word,” says hopeless romantic Rishabh.
Explaining how the two work in tandem, Praneeth says, “We discuss how we want the story, lyrics and tune of the song to shape up. Since I can’t write fluently in Hindi, I give my suggestions and Rishabh takes it forward.”
‘Kalla’ is a Punjabi song with a bit of Hindi, which contemplates the heartbreaking end of a relationship. It has received both positive and negative feedback. “Listeners liked the tune and emotions around the song but some musicians felt we could have added more flavours in terms of instrumentation.” That is owing to the use of shakers (percussive musical instruments) to give a beachy vibe.
Singing Hindi and Telugu covers | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Writing originals has been an important part of their artistic growth. “We thought writing lyrics and getting music around it could make a song beautiful.” From understanding how every element works and using instruments to learn and perceive music differently, doing minor tweaks after the feedback has been a learning experience for the musicians. “This journey is exciting and we hope to implement the lessons learnt to make the next original better.” Waiting in the pipeline are a few singles conceptualised on themes of love, feeling lost, discovering oneself to succeed and reflecting on childhood.
