My First Record

Talking to musician Nischay Parekh, one half of Calcutta dream-pop duo Parekh & Singh, about their 2013 debut album 'Ocean.' The artist opens up about the origins of the songs on the LP, moving into their instantly recognizable visual aesthetic when the record was rereleased by U.K. label Peacefrog Records in 2016 and more. Stream Parekh & Singh's music here: https://open.spotify.com/album/3Go4qMxReIx9sTKGYMLakO?si=4kRc5UDGS8aepSrOFAj-Rw

Talking to musician Suraj Mani, who fronted Kochi rockers Motherjane at the time they released their 2002 debut album 'Insane Biography.' Mani recounts how the band decided to stop covering Metallica and Iron Maiden to pursue writing their own material, personal incidents that made its way into the songwriting, recording the album at different intervals and more. Stream Motherjane's music here: https://open.spotify.com/album/6KnkgsfFPAglMNkn39OkzL?si=5ttT8LS4Q1WSLagSlf6pmA

Talking to Bombay musician Vasuda Sharma about her 2013 full-length debut album 'Attuned Spirits.' The artist opens up about how the seeds for the album were planted at Boston's Berklee College of Music, her super successful crowdfunding campaign, the stories behind the songs, Jai Row Kavi adding his dexterous drum parts to one of the tracks and more. Stream Vasuda Sharma's music here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4yE5gGPNT6WuG4GqWpShJ2?si=zrp-gMypRI2OzMqbOSr1CA

Talking to Bombay/Delhi jazz-blues duo Adil & Vasundhara's guitarist Adil Manuel about their 2013 full-length debut album 'Ampersand' as part of My First Record. The musician opens about how the Versova creek inspired the groovy "Creek Funk," why a no show A.R. Rahman allowed them to use a new Steinway, working with producer Shantanu Hudlikar as well as collaborators Loy Mendonsa, Louiz Banks, Ranjit Barot and more. Stream Adil & Vasundhara's music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ABHdz5JCH1pLwE6GHtdG0?si=lIC9ydPmTK2omib3s5px-w

Talking to Bombay punk rock band The Lightyears Explode's vocalist-guitarist Saurabh Roy about their 2013 full-length debut album 'The Revenge of Kalicharan' as part of My First Record. The musician opens up about how the album flows as if it is a night out, working with producer Jason D'Souza, collaborating with Rohit P-Man Pereira, then manager Himanshu Vaswani surprising them with merch at their launch gig, "Diet Coke" used by comedian Karunesh Talwar and more. Stream The Lightyears Explode's music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3QYtl7ACJpE5liUDmDfNzm?si=nd8Ns4LITKGqumg7wz0Jjw

Talking to Bombay rock outfit Rock Machine/Indus Creed's vocalist Uday Benegal about their 1988 full-length debut album 'Rock 'n' Roll Renegade' as part of My First Record. The singer opens up about writing the album at the Municipal Commissioner's bungalow, their trip to the then U.S.S.R., how the title track's music video made it to MTV, artists such as Ehsaan Noorani dropping by the studio during their sessions and more. Stream Rock Machine's music here: https://open.spotify.com/album/2opgtIDW5rQ8dm1LeQ1mai?si=5vIyryZ7Tr-nDzejqu40HQ

Talking to New Delhi-based singer-songwriter Dhruv Visvanath about his 2015 full-length debut album 'Orion' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician opens up about releasing the LP via Vishal Dadlani's label Vishal Likes This, stories behind the songs, developing his percussive acoustic guitar technique and more. Stream Dhruv Visvanath's music here: https://open.spotify.com/album/0oIUf59Pfd0rVxx6cGiSR1?si=QHemCm7JSpmWUBO-OaJa9g

Talking to Bombay-based singer-songwriter Aditi Ramesh about her 2017 four-track debut EP 'Autocorrect' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician opens up about quitting her job in law to pursue music, collaborating with Dee MC, recording the songs with Keenan Thomas and more. Stream Aditi Ramesh's music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/13Z3y4eMEYPatOuboc7RcF?si=oF7hmqJkSTWx3KuvrVjCVg

Talking to Bombay-based vocalist-guitarist Siddharth Basrur about his 2013 five-track debut EP 'Chasing Rain - Chapter 1' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician opens up about writing the songs for his to be wife, meeting collaborator Naina Kundu at a Vice Versa recording session, working with producer Ayan De and musicians Jishnu Guha, Adil Kurwa and Zain Calcuttawala to make the record, getting guitarist Devesh Dayal to play on one song, shooting a music video with Roycin D'Souza within an hour and more. Stream Siddharth Basrur's music here: https://soundcloud.com/siddharth-basrur/sets/chasing-rain-chapter-1

Talking to Bombay-based harpist-vocalist Nush Lewis about her 2015 six-track debut EP 'Fused' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician opens up about how a panic attack led her to write one of the songs on the record, how producer Ayan De added an electronic touch to the tracks, possibly reworking the EP and more. Stream Nush Lewis' music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4FQDUxOZEhPd4CquShAZGk?si=0rSwxzCBREy4QPCFCmJ1rg

Talking to Bombay-based singer-songwriter Mali about her 2017 five-track debut EP 'Rush' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician opens up about how moving cities shaped some of the songs on the record, the arrangement of the tracks, what she would have done differently and more. Stream Mali's music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4JSAaGJ5mNSfG0MBxDFQZN?si=l8rltxjPTu2Rn1_aXSVZVw

#MyFirstRecord: Talking to Bombay-based singer-songwriter Tejas about his 2014 five-track debut EP 'Small Victories' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician talks about how funny man José Cavaco initially shared his music, working with guitarist-producer Warren Mendonsa, drummer Jehangir Jehangir and bassist Adil Kurwa to make the record, what made the emotional "Ruby" the hit track from the EP and more. Stream Tejas' music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4CK1oDthUad8mQBb8GAcfl?si=yJS-LdQfSRqiIbo1GSCWZg

Talking to Bombay-based pop-rock band The Colour Compound's vocalist-guitarist Bradley Tellis here about the group's 2014 nine-track debut full-length album 'From Where We Stand' as part of 'My First Record.' The musician talks about how himself, vocalist-guitarist Rohan Mazumdar, drummer Aditya Ashok and bassist Adil Kurwa initially got together, a record label deal falling through, the story behind the songs, possibly new material and more. Get The Colour Compound's music here: https://www.oklisten.com/thecolourcompound

#MyFirstRecord: Talking to Bombay-based singer-songwriter Vernon Noronha here for the first episode of my new series 'My First Record.' We chat about his 2016 debut EP 'Closer To Home,' how he's not had a breakup or long-distance relationship, working with producer Leron D'Souza, recording at Ayan De's kitchen and more. Stream Vernon Noronha's music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6CWRHbheSR5BwvtjDP7S6T?si=NvGiJ3v8TjqPYH2v2jMUGw

For #MyFirstRecord Dave Britto talks to artists about their first EP or album (should be minimum three years old). He will be discussing their creative process, the songs on the record and how they think that project has aged over time.