‘Maan Ja Zara’ is a reminder to stop overthinking, get out of your own way and enjoy the world as it is,” say singers Yohan Marshall and Riya Duggal, speaking about their new single and their first ever collaboration together. “The lyrics talks about freeing ourselves from doubt, allowing ourselves to grow and exploring the beauty around us.” It is this freewheeling spirit of a new generation that this peppy number captures so well.
Co-produced by Reuel Benedict (RUHH), this is the first Hindi composition by Marshall. While searching for an authenticity and uniqueness to add to the song, both Marshall and Benedict came across Duggal’s work and were blown away by her voice. They brought her on board, and she eventually became an integral part of the song-writing process as well. The music video directed and edited by Rono & Taab, also offers a playful and positive visual experience.
Mumbai-based Marshall is a vocalist, musician, composer, and producer who has performed around the world since the age of fifteen. In India, he has performed at some of the biggest venues and festivals including Lollapalooza, NH7, Supersonic, Ragasthan, Hornbill, Live From the Console, NCPA, NLS Strawberry fields, IIT Madras and NLU Delhi, among others. His live act consists of an ensemble of talented musicians trained in a wide array of influences, who together create a sound that transcends traditional genres. Marshal’s music is a captivating journey through a musical kaleidoscope, blending his versatile singer-songwriter style with elements of pop, RnB, rock and more, into a seamless experience.
Marshall is also a producer and owns Mumbai’s popular ‘Counter Point Studio’. His voice has been featured in several commercial ads and voiceovers. He has toured with artists like Lisa Mishra, Arijit Singh, Manasi Scott, Lothika and Vir Das, and performed at the Nick Jonas-Priyanka Chopra wedding. He was part of the TV show ‘The Stage’, has acted in a number of ad films, and has judged several major events.
Duggal is a singer, songwriter, dancer, and producer from Mumbai. She’s known for her playback singing in films like ‘14 Phere’, ‘Cash’ and ‘Halkie Fulkee’. Her latest independent release is ‘Na Tha Woh Pyaar’. As one half of the pop duo, Simetri, she has released multiple singles and was the winner of Nexa Music judged by AR Rahman and Clinton Cerejo. From there, she got the opportunity to feature in songs by both the maestros – ‘You Got Me’ and ‘Different Kind of Love’ respectively.
She has acted and sung for various commercials, and is also a voiceover and dubbing artist having lent her voice to multiple animated movies like ‘Encanto’, ‘Pinocchio’, ‘Scrooge’, ‘Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir’. Duggal has previously toured with renowned artists like Shankar Mahadevan, Ash King, Shalmali Kholgade, Ananya Birla and Harshdeep Kaur.
On the occasion of the release of their new song, we caught up with both artists. Excerpts from an edited interview:
Q: What is the song ‘Maan Ja Zara’ about? What were the processes of creating and writing it like?
Yohan Marshall (YM): The initial lyrics came flying out of me one day when I was in a particularly creative state of flow. The song feels like a conversation with a friend although it was just my internal dialogue. This is my first Hindi composition, and I really enjoyed the lyrical nuances and knew that my musical/compositional style would help me sail through. In moments I felt out of my depth, I looked towards the lyrics for a solution.
Riya Duggal (RD): I really enjoyed writing my verse as sort of a female response to the first verse. To me, it’s about personal growth – from being a complete introvert, to slowly finding my smile again and finally living life on my own terms.
Q: How did your collaboration come about?
YM: As the composition started taking shape, Reuel and I realized that the lyrical theme called for another perspective and the song’s message yearned for collaboration. Upon listening to Riya’s music and meeting her, I was blown away by her voice. So, we were thrilled that she agreed to be an integral part of writing the song. The icing on the cake was the great chemistry we shared during the video shoot.
RD: Yohan reached out to me through a mutual friend, Reuel, who has produced the song as well. I’m so glad he did because it’s been a blast working with them.
Q: How did you come up with the concept for the video?
YM: To be honest, we took a leap of faith and tread the fine line between planning and letting things happen. Rono & Taab have just been fantastic to work with. They have immense experience directing and editing music videos, and they allow moments and scenes to take shape without forcing them too much. Hence, they brought out truly natural performances from us. I’m very grateful to them for putting this video together.
RD: The concept was all Yohan, Rono and Taab’s. The brief for me was to just do my thing in front of the camera, which I love doing! We walked around south Bombay one beautiful early morning and ended up with the cutest video.
Q: What’s next on the cards for you?
YM: I will be putting out two more singles soon after this launch with some very exciting collaborators. I would love to tell you who the collaborators are but nothing makes me happier than keeping you guessing.
This year has been incredible, I have produced around 20 songs for different artists ranging from Pop, RnB, and Trap to mainstream Hindi singles. Most people know me as a live performer as I have toured extensively. This year too, we are gearing up towards several huge performances, and I’m really looking forward to them.
RD: I just released my debut single called ‘Na Tha Woh Pyaar’ and have been focussing on creating a lot of content for social media. I’m also part of a pop duo with my sister Simran which is called Simetri and we are releasing a bunch of singles and an EP by the end of this year. Further, I’m recording a lot of advertising commercials and have a bunch of live shows planned this season.
‘Maan Ja Zara’ can be accessed through all major music platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Gaana, YouTube, and more.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.