Music runs in the blood of Goans and with new talent
bringing forth their new styles and songs, all genres of music are happily
accepted. However, it is not just any average songs that are making it to the
list, these are songs that touch the heart strings of the listeners.
An original song by the band, Knight & Day, ‘Omor Mog’
was released on YouTube and has received 77,000 views over a period of three
weeks. The song is directed by Euban Pereira and the cinematography is by
Josephfern D’Souza. ‘Omor Mog’, portrays a heartfelt journey of love and
commitment that celebrates the start of a couple’s marriage and their endless
love for each other. The band was formed in 2019 and the lead singers include
Carey Fernandes and Cielda Pereira while the band members comprises of Euban
Pereira on drums, Samuel Godinho on guitar and Risban Gracias on bass.
Euban from Majorda has worked with a team of young
professionals dedicated to music. “Omor Mog’ even though it is a love song, it
is picturised in such a way that it shows a newlywed couple, which is played by
real life couple, Melissa De Souza and Craig Ferrao, getting into their new
house and how they enjoy the small things in their married life. Most of the
songs shows a couple falling in love and getting married but we wanted to show
that love after marriage still exists through romance, joy and friendship that
remains in a relationship,” explains Euban.
Speaking about the team, Euban says, “Each member of our
band has put in their best efforts. Devesh Dias is a young keyboardist who has
his own recording studio. He has directed the music, mixed and mastered the
project and he is the brains behind the music. Overall this project is very
special as the crew members are all friends and it was a professional yet fun
to be on set,”
says Euban.
Maven Fernandes from Nuem, Cabo de Rama, has been writing
songs for over three years in English, Konkani and Hindi. He has released five
songs including ‘Tuzoch Hanv’, ‘Tu Kitlem Sobit (You’re so beautiful)’ and
‘Roddtam Ugdassan’. An aviation, hospitality and customer service lecturer at
Chowgule College, Margao, Maven is also the founding member in his band,
Capital 6, which consists of six boys and one female vocalist.
“I am a self-taught musician thanks to the countless videos
on YouTube. There were many people who guided me along the way. I enjoy writing
different songs and I like to project myself in someone’s shoes to understand
the emotions required for the song. I write the songs in English and then I get
them translated in Konkani with the help of my parents and friends. Sometimes
the song can be written and recorded within two days. I have even had the
experience of recording the first verse in the studio and then working on the
second verse and competing the song within that session,” says Maven, who plays
the keyboard, guitar and harmonica.
He is next working in releasing an album, ‘For You’ which
will consist of 16 songs, including songs in English, Konkani and Hindi. “The
album will be a compilation of different songs including upbeat and peppy songs
along with ballads. I love songs by singer/songwriters like Jason Mraz, John
Mayer, Ed Sheraan and Prateek Kuhad,” informs Maven.
His latest release ‘Tuzoch Hanv’ has garnered over 50,000
views on YouTube within three weeks, a huge motivation for the upcoming
performer. “I am happy about the song receiving such good views. I only upload
the song and then my family and friends support me by sharing the song. I was
working in the UAE for two years so I have music lovers who listen to my songs
and in UK, I have family members who circulate the songs. I am not worried
about the song being downloaded and viewed even though it will decrease my
viewership but it will still reach more listeners,” says Maven optimistically.
When the world was going through a tough phase during the
Covid-19 pandemic, Zinho Fernandes used his phone to record a music video to
his song, ‘Listen’ which not only gives hope to the listeners but also won the
Jury's Choice Award at Don Bosco Film Festival, Italy. It gave encouragement to
the young songwriter/singer to write more original music. “My mother Exida has
been my biggest inspiration in music because she pushed me and my brother,
Leander, to learn and improvise. My father Salvador Fernandes has also provided
us his support without any hesitation. I started releasing my originals on Don
Bosco Youth Services, Province of Panjim (DBYS INP) page an initiative by Don
Bosco Youth Services to help young budding musicians under Fr Jason Coelho,”
says Zinho from Sao Jose De Areal.
Zinho has many great influences in his life when it comes to
music. He started playing the guitar seriously once he was studying in college
as most of his friends were musicians. His childhood friend, Daniel Andrade,
taught him to play the guitar while Desmond Silva, a keyboardist was a big
influence in coming up with the soulful chord structures and he credits
violinist Karen Coelho when it comes to choral arrangement. Alcantro D'Costa,
is his cousin in Mumbai, that helped Zinho in the big city. This influence can
be seen through the varied songs composed by Zinho, ‘Amchem Sobit Moddgovam’
for the Carmelite Monastery, Margao, ‘Uloi Marie’ for the Don Bosco Youth
Services and ‘Ek Katha’ for which he collaborated with his friend Samuel
Alfonso, in writing the lyrics and music arrangement.
After graduation, Zinho started working as an assistant
music producer in Mumbai creating music for different projects including a
documentary web series, ‘Songs of the River’ hosted by Shantanu Moitra, a
Bollywood music producer who has worked on films like ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’,
‘3 Idiots’ and ‘Sardar Udham’. He keeps travlling to Goa to work on his
original music.
“My inspiration for music is Coldplay, Linkin Park and
guitarist Mateus Asato. I am working on another three originals to be released
within this year. The songs are on the themes of Love and Unity, River Mhadei
and Konkani as a language. I try to add Indian elements in my songs. As an
Indian, we should cherish our rich musical heritage and I like the fusion of
Indian and Western music. I am also working on a new song with my brother,
Leander. Hopefully, an album will be ready for release next year,” adds Zinho.
Another Goan artist who is putting up stunning videos to go
with is surreal voice is Princeton Colaco from Velim. An engineering student,
he worked for two years in the field before calling it quits to work full time
on his music. He has released eight songs over two years and now as a new
member of the Goan band, The Runks, Princeton is looking forward to doing what
he loves.
“Music has been my passion since I was a school student. But
I started working more seriously on my music just two years back. It’s been six
months since I joined The Runks, a noted band that was a finalist in a national
band hunt competition. As a solo artist, I have released eight songs which are
available on Spotify and YouTube,” says Princeton, who plays the guitar and
violin.
His songs include, ‘One Thing’, ‘I'll Be Waiting’, ‘Fallen
for You’, and five songs as a part of his Extended Play (EP), ‘In My Car’,
‘Where Are We Now?’, ‘Back to You’, ‘Can We Talk?’ and ‘Pain/Fade’. “Anyone can
get a tune in their mind while walking, talking or even showering. The lyrics
are important and it can take just 10-15 minutes to pen the song while
sometimes I need to revisit the song in some months to complete the lyrics.
Once the song is ready, I have to hire a team to shoot the video,” says Princeton,
who plans to release his next single by the month of July or August.
One challenge that Princeton talks about is getting signed
by a record label. Though there is great musical talent in Goa, he feels that
the music has to reach out globally. “It is a huge challenge to promote songs
on a national or international level. Thanks to social media platforms, our
music is reaching a wide audience, but the backing of a record label is also
important,” concludes Princeton.