Musician and singer Rohit Almeida, from Porvorim, has been performing for over three years and
has released his debut English album, ‘Fairytale’. “When I could not pay
attention in class, I would start writing lyrics, sometimes even completing an
entire song in one class,” says the young musician. While that song was written
along the tune of a song he had heard (‘If You Ever Come Back’ by The Script),
his first album comprises entirely original work, including songs such as ‘Do You
Believe’, ‘Kryptonite’, ‘Change’, ‘You & Me’, ‘Move on (FC Goa)’,
‘Fairytale’, etc.
The 12-song album was recorded at Recording by Aurvile
Rodrigues, Margao with Rueben Rebello playing the bass guitar, Gerard Rodrigues
(grandson of Braz Gonsalves) on the saxophone, Emmanuel Menezes on the
keyboard, Roswin Fernandes on the drums and Jubaesco Fernandes playing the lead
guitar. “I had written seven songs on a single book in college but I lost it
and hence started writing new songs. I hadn’t really thought about releasing an
album but after uploading my songs on YouTube, I realised that people liked my
songs. This album is a collection of four years’ work,” says Rohit, who has
explored different themes such as love, friendship and heartbreak, covering genres
such as pop, reggae and hip hop.
The son of Derek and
Cheryl and elder brother to Rohan, Rohit completed his graduation in BBA from
Saraswat College, Mapusa. “I was first introduced to the keyboard by my mother
at the age of five years as she used to play the piano. Then I shifted my focus
to playing football, before realising that I’m not really good at it. Then I
tried my hand at basketball, but could never get the ball through the hoop.
Then came chess, but the only thing I liked about the game was the sound the
chess clock made after making a move. Finally, I found my way back to my first
love, music, when I picked my first guitar when I was in Class VIII,” quips
Rohit.
After playing in the
church choir, Rohit formed his first band, The Three Horsemen, with Bradwell
Pinto on keyboard and Donovan Monteiro on drums. Currently, Rohit performs as a
one man band. His music is influenced by Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars and
Bon Jovi.
Rohit uploaded videos
on YouTube almost a year ago, beginning with his acoustic cover of Bruno Mars’s
‘When I was Your Man’, followed by his (Rohit’s) original single, ‘Count On Me’
with Joel Ricardo on keyboard, ‘Do You Believe’, ‘Yellow’ a cover of a Coldplay
single and ‘Move on (FC Goa)’.
“Right now, the album
is available on iTunes and I keep posting updates on Instagram about the album.
It gets easier to track the progress of the videos on YouTube as you can see
whether the audience is enjoying your music and which songs are doing well. My
brother helped me upload one video while my dad shot a video for me; my mother
encourages my music and lyrics. Since everyone in the family comes from
different professions, I was on my own to record the album and I had full
creative freedom to express myself through music,” says Rohit.
The
album is already in stores in Margao at Furtados, Porvorim at Cremeux and in
Panjim at Creameux, Champs, Furtados and Pedros.
