If she were to borrow a phrase from the Bard himself, Rupa
Rao’s music would reflect a stirring from the heart or rather, in her words,
‘stories told from the heart’. Inclined towards the melancholic ballads for
their sheer beauty of sound and mood rather than any personal outpouring, Rupa
refers to herself as the retro artiste. “I know there is a happy balance to
life, but I have inevitably been drawn to the melancholic sweetness of music,”
she confesses.
He choice has invariably been shaped by her early musical
influences. “Music has always been a part of my life ever since I can remember.
My mother was a violinist and so were my two older sisters. Music was present
in every aspect of our lives,” reveals Rupa who is inspired by the mellifluous
melodies of the 1950s/60s Bollywood music and the works of Gulzar, Geeta Dutt
and the Mangeshkar sisters.
Despite a lack of formal training, Rupa has been penning
down several lyrics from the heart since her teen years; the first of which was
‘Palkén’. “My inspiration comes from listening to music; the emotions and
feelings it brings out in me which in turn activates my creativity,” she
shares.
These lyrics were held in reserve till last year when she
recruited the services of her retro band members ‘Saaz…ish & Musical
Conspiracy’ .‘Palkén stories from the heart’ was the predictable title of her
first CD. “Jeevan Kerkar, my keyboardist, helped to arrange the music and
Deepak Manerikar assisted with the rhythm and the recording studio. My entire
band has been working on the CD for six months now and it has been great
working with a wonderful group of talented people,” shares Rupa. The CD, which
contains seven songs, has been arranged to coincide with the seven notes – sa
re ga ma pa dha ni. “Of the seven songs, 6 are solos, with one rap number
accompaniment by Octopad band-member Prakash Pednekar. Already soft-launched in
August, the CD, which is available in stores and online, donates part of its
sales proceeds to the Samarpan Foundation.
Rupa’s music is indeed a labour of love!
