Rohan Solomon has been making waves in the Independent music industry with his unique sound. After dropping a bunch of singles in the last three years, exploring sounds that are rooted to the multiple genres of rock and country music, Solomon has come out with a brand new album ‘Strung Out To Dry’, almost after a decade since his debut LP ‘Lead The Way’. The 20-songs musical bouquet is an experimental mix of orchestral sounds and soulful vocals, all packed into a 52 minute long journey that unfolds one after the other. ‘Strung Out To Dry’ aims to tell a story through sound and melody and it aptly showcases Rohan Solomon’s unique take on creating something that’s more than an auditory experience.
During an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, Rohan Solomon opened up about his latest album, the themes it explores, his repertoire of music, his journey so far and more.
Here are the excerpts:
‘Strung Out To Dry’ is an eclectic experience as an album for the listeners. Putting the orchestral might together must have been a draining and yet rewarding journey. What can you tell us about that?
You’re absolutely correct. It was certainly draining, but so very rewarding at the end of it all. I’m so proud of this album and haven’t yet reached a point where I’m bored of listening to it. This was a very organic and step by step journey into becoming an orchestral concept album.
The first song I produced from the album is “Victoria’s Secret". Once I was done with the overall production, I felt that something was missing so I wrote some orchestral parts for it and that seemed to fill the void. I really enjoyed that process. The next one I produced was ‘Without a Trace’. In that, I wanted something a bit more sparse, but still leaning towards some strings. So I contacted my friend Tiffany and she wrote some string section parts and recorded it in the US and sent the files back to me. I was just enjoying working on these orchestral parts. At some point, Harshit (who was an intern at my studio at that time) mentioned that he is a composer and is very influenced by orchestral music. So, I asked him to write some basic brass sections to compliment Tiffany’s parts. He did a good job. The next song I produced was ‘Set Me Free’. During this production process, I asked Harshit to work with me on a full on orchestral score for the entire song. We came up with something that we both were very proud of. But I was still not bored of the orchestral feel, I wanted to keep going. This was a very pivotal moment because it was at this point where I realised and decided that these aren’t just 3 random singles which have orchestral parts, this can actually be an album. There was a story there that needed to be told. That’s when we started to approach this as an album and the rest is history.
‘Hear Your Call’ is one song that definitely stood out for me, since it reminded me of 80s classic rock jams. How did you go about creating this orchestral rock song?
I love rock music. I mean… I played in a rock band for 10 years back in the day. That genre is very much imprinted onto my soul. ‘Hear Your Call’ was just such a perfect song to start the album with. Right off the bat, we start off with a banger of a rock song that has a quarter note feel kick drums that drives the whole beat and just encourages people to tap their foot along with that beat. Ironically, it was the last song to be recorded.
The evolution of this song is so crazy. Believe it or not, I wrote this song on the piano. It started off as a very different vibe. But there was this natural evolution that it went through and finally reached the vibe that it was meant to be.
Elaborate more about what this album tries to convey? And how the mix of instrumental and songs are effective in conveying what you set out to convey?
This album is a concept album that follows a protagonist through his journey. It goes deep into the emotions of this character and takes us along for the ride. The highs and the lows, the happiness and the sadness, the love and the loss. So of course, the order of the song plays a huge part in communicating that story. Just when you think that things are going great, the next song comes along to diffuse that thought. The momentum has shifts in energy and emotion. This avoids emotional fatigue. It gives the listeners a chance to yearn for more and root for this character. There never seems to be a happy ending for this guy, but at the same time, just when you think that everything is going horribly, there is an upswing in his journey and the energy of the music.
Of course, the orchestral elements play a huge role in telling this story. I wanted that if anybody listens to the instrumental version of each song, they should still feel the intended emotion of the story. This way, even if people don’t understand English, they will still be able to follow the journey and at least know whether this is happy or sad. But when put together with the lyrics, it becomes more than an album. It becomes… an Experience.
The time gap between your first album and your most recent album is huge. What’s the reason behind that? And how did you musically evolve between the two, in terms of your sound, your genre?
Haha yes, there is a huge gap. Although, I did release a second album called ‘Moving On’ in between ‘Lead the Way’ and ‘Strung Out To Dry’. But I would be working on other projects in between all these solo albums. I released an 2 EPs and a full length album with Cyanide after ‘Lead The Way’, then I put out ‘Moving On’ right before I moved to the US. While When I was in the US, I released an EP with a band I formed called ‘Siren’ (which actually features a song from Strung Out To Dry called ‘Deja Vu’) and then I did a trilogy of songs with another one of my bands called ‘By Chance’. Plus, I was also so focussed on learning and practising the art of audio engineering and music production. That kept me very busy. New York is definitely a hustle. So I’ve constantly been busy with something or the other. But I do feel that my music and writing has certainly evolved and has become more mature over the years. The basic genre of pop-rock/singer-songwriter vibe is going to stay constant. I mean, it’s very unlikely that I will make a reggae record or something haha (not that reggae is bad or anything, it’s just not me). More than the genre, it’s the presentation and the depth of the stories that I’m telling now or the causes that I’m standing up for now are what makes my music more mature.
From most of your singles that I heard like Serenity, Without A Trace, Happy Place, I observed a strong influence of country music and I am yet to come across an Indian artist whose sound reminds me of some of the legendary country music stalwarts like John Denver, Johnny Cash, Tim McGraw etc. What’s the story behind your affinity towards this genre and whether people in this country form a very niché kind of an audience for this kind of sound?
Yes, I’ve always had a bit of a country twang ever since my second album ‘Moving On’, which was produced and recorded in Nashville, Tennessee a.k.a the Mecca of country music. I spent quite a lot of time there while making that album. It was produced by Scott Moffatt (who was in the 90’s pop group “The Moffatts"). Every night after our recording sessions, Scott and I would go out to writer’s rounds, where sometimes he would be performing with his brothers. I just fell in love with the way stories are conveyed through country music. So I guess I took a little inspiration from there. That clubbed with my rock influences like Foo Fighters and Metallica kind of brought forth this awesome vibe that I love and which became my sound.
I think there is always an audience for good music. If we can tell a story that people can relate to and mix it up with chord structures that compliment the emotion behind the story, I think people will listen and enjoy it. Agreed, the majority of the population in India will always prefer Bollywood, but I do believe that there is a niche audience for this genre as well.
‘We Demand Change’ is another powerful song from your repertoire. What does that song stand for?
Yes, that song is certainly carrying a powerful message. It was inspired by a lot of fear actually. Everything we were hearing on the news about racial based violence in the US had me worried. Specially being a person of colour who was living in the US. I knew that we were at a pivotal crossroad for change. The only way I knew how to journal my feelings was to write a song about it. The last straw that pushed me to write it was what happened with George Floyd. There is a reference to that incident at the beginning of the second verse… “Innocent lives were taken by none other than the ones who protect us".
But I also wanted to stay positive at the same time. I believed, and still believe that if enough of us stand up and let our voices truly be heard, then there will be a positive change. This is conveyed by the “Ohhhhhh Ohhhhh" section in the outro with all those group vocals. Even in the eye of the storm, I will find my guiding light.
Your very first album Lead The Way had shades of Christian Rock. And you started your musical journey with that album. What can you recall about that time?
Well I wouldn’t call it Christian Rock… I’d classify it more as “spiritual". I was very careful never to use the words Jesus or Christ in any song in the entire album because I wanted it to be relatable to people of every faith. That was a great and fun process. I wanted to try to come out of my comfort zone and make a record that was completely different from anything I’ve ever done. Those are heart felt songs with good messages and they remain timeless. It was my first experience as a co-producer even though I didn’t know anything about audio engineering at that time. I co-produced it with Sidhant Mathur and Gaurav Chintamani. It was a great learning experience for me.
One of the most memorable phases of that process was recording it and getting it mixed at Yash Raj Studios by Shantanu Hudlikar. The amount of things I learned from him is insane. It was so much fun. I’m still very proud of that album and do listen to it every now and then.
That also brings me to your upcoming music video ‘It’s Christmas’. What should one be looking forward to and how have you weaved that song in a video that exudes warmth and festive fervour?
I’m super excited about it. It is going to be a video of joy and love. The colours of Christmas come through and the feeling of togetherness and unconditional love is shown. It just follows various characters that seemingly are so different from each other and have no apparent connection with each other and somehow they all come together at the end to celebrate their friendship and fellowship. That’s the thing about this festive ‘time of the year’, it ‘brings people together’ and we realise that that’s what’s most important in our life. Our loved ones are the most important.
What are your upcoming projects? And whether you would be experimenting with other genres as well like you did with Strung Out Dry?
As of now, I’m going to ride the wave of my new album and sit back and enjoy that for a bit. I’m going to focus on running my new studio and my music institutes. But you know, I’m constantly writing new songs. So there will always be something in the works for sure. I’m open minded about genres, but it has to be something that I vibe with. I need to truly feel the music. If not a new genre, there will definitely be a new and fresh vibe in whatever I put out next. I will continue to push myself and test my boundaries and stay true to the music that I love and the message that I want to share with the world.
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