The One with Pop Hooks

Born to music-loving Bengali-Gujarati parents (his mother is a jazz-loving Bengali and his father is into Indian classical music),Parekh knew what he wanted to do from a very young age. “The background score of my childhood had Nat King Cole and Stevie Wonder,as well as Pandit Ravi Shankar,” he says. He found a mentor in another Kolkata-based musician,Tajdar Junaid. “I used to look forward to spending Sundays with Taj,” he recounts,“Initially,it was all about playing the guitar. But he changed my world view. I realised I could learn a lot from him,I was always ready to pick his brains,” says Parekh. That’s when he started writing songs. “It was a natural progression. Taj was also very supportive,” he says. Berklee too happened because of his association with Tajdar. “He mentioned that a friend of his is studying music in Berklee. I didn’t know that people could spend four years studying music in a university. The idea just bowled me over,” says Parekh. He was 16 then.

Parekh’s song Me and You from his debut album was written when he was 13 and its deceptively simple words are laden with deeper thoughts. In Love me baby,Parekh confesses about his past relationships,while Philosophioze is a wry take on the pressures of fitting in.

The success of his debut album and his cult following in the music-festival circuit has changed Parekh’s perception about a thing or two. “It’s amazing how music festivals in places as far-removed as Ziro and Kohima are bringing artistes together. Music festivals are cutting through demographics and independent artistes like us owe a lot to them. They make us work hard because now we feel we need to earn our gig in such prestigious festivals,” says Parekh.

2014 will see a song from his debut album in a forthcoming indie film. “I can’t reveal much more about that,” he says. But what he can tell us is that his band,Monkey in Me,may,very soon,begin recording a double album.