Armaan and you are brothers and make a helluva team as a singer-composer. What kind of equation do you both share professionally?
We are very receptive as musicians and very blunt as well. There is a lot that he learns from my working style and a lot that I understand from his methods. We accept each other as we are and don’t try to change the other; we let things flow simply when we jam. Usually, we both are sure about what’s working for the song and what’s missing; so we are almost always on the same page. We have completed almost 40 songs together and I think he understands my music like no one else.
We still fight a lot when we record vocals together, but right now, it’s a little less because he has been delivering every song perfectly dipped in emotions and his singing is on another level. I am really proud of the way he has taken the legacy forward and gone global with his English Pop Music as well as his arrival in the South Industry with a blockbuster like ‘Butta Bomma’. We listen to very different music, so there’s a lot of exchange there as well. Eventually, we feed off each other’s music, and help each other grow as musicians.
In one of your interviews, you said you want all your songs to be sung by Shreya Ghoshal. What is it that makes her stand apart from the rest?
How can I explain magic? Do you think it’s possible? She is versatile like no other–a legendary singer of India. She is a great human being, a friend, and a guide. It’s my honour to be able to work with her. I would love to create more and more songs for her. She is my most favourite female singer of all time, and I think a lot of singers from our country look up to her.
One music composer who has greatly influenced you during your growing up years…
There’s never one (laughs). My grandfather Sardar Malik, Madan Mohan Saab, SD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal ji, RD Burman, Jatin-Lalit, my father Daboo Malik, Pritam, and AR Rahman.
