Amaal Malik on BTS: They are really tight with their songwriting; the audio production, too, is new and not formula driven – Times of India


Amaal Malik, who has successfully created a space for himself in the Indian music industry with his brilliant work, feels Indians have made their presence felt all over the globe, as far as music is concerned. In a freewheeling chat with ETimes, the young composer shared his views on the current pop music scene in India, the very popular Korean pop band BTS and more. Excerpts…

The era of the ’90s had some great music. What’s your view on the pop music scene now?
I think pop music has been delivering more original music than films in the last few years. The ’90s indie-pop scene was fresh and experimental. In 2015, Arijit, Atif and Armaan did singles like ‘Chal Wahan Jaate Hain’, ‘Zindagi Aa Raha Hoon Main’ and ‘Main Rahoon Ya Na Rahoon’. I think that brought back a lot of hope for us when songs that weren’t associated with any film went viral and struck the right chord.

Now, the scene is more Punjabi pop and filmy pop inspired by the ’90s. I’m glad though that despite there being no film music, Indians have still been listening to a lot of music. A major chunk of people is listening to the 30-40-year-old melodies as that’s what our country is all about–emotional words and long-lasting melodies.

Then there are people like us–five per cent of India’s music listeners–who listen to Lofi, Downtempo, Deep House, Techno, Alternative Rock Pop, and everything that has a good chill vibe. The pandemic caused the entire film and music industry to come to a halt and then began a surge of pop music and there’s a lot of new good artistes out there that are being discovered. Streaming platforms, too, are supporting good original music and that’s amazing.

Korean music is taking over the globe, especially BTS. Are you fond of their music?
Yes, they make really good music and videos. Their following is massive; I think Korean music was always taking over the globe, we are just seeing it now because the media is finally talking about it. They are really tight with their songwriting and the audio production, too, is new and not formula-driven.

What do you think is the biggest challenge in creating music in India?
The biggest challenge is being able to create varied music without getting typecast or caged. When it comes to film music, it’s not easy to create the soundtrack or for that matter even one good song. There are so many factors involved in the creation and approval of a song. Directors, music labels, film producers, music supervisors, actors, choreographers–everyone has to be convinced on every level for a song to make its way today.

It’s very difficult to make music that goes well with a storyline, matches the visuals, the actor/actress, and despite all these things, still manages to make a place in the heart of the listeners. Indian composers are expected to know several genres like the back of their hands, and be able to add a dash of Indianness to that genre. I feel anyone who makes music in India and is successful here, manages to make a dent globally too. Indians are all over the globe. Indian music is loved all over the world.

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