Jeanne Merchant, a celebrated vocal coach and singer-songwriter, has just released her latest single ‘Lucky Tonight’. This peppy number has been made in collaboration with rapper EPR. The track has been produced by Anshuman Sharma, and the team describes it as a, “Fusion of soulful melody, compelling lyrics and dynamic spoken verse, creating an unforgettable musical experience”.
Following the success of her previous releases, ‘Round and Round’, ‘Hello and Goodbye’, ‘Fake Love’, ‘Magic’, ‘Imperfections’, and ‘Christmas Time’ on Merchant Records, Merchant decided to release ‘Lucky Tonight’ as a vibrant party number. Previously, her song ‘Fake Love’ was nominated in the Best Pop Song category at Hungama’s ArtistAloud Music Awards.
“The song tells the story of friends enjoying a lavish, carefree night out on the town, driving around, hopping from club to club, and letting loose,” she explains. Merchant’s vocals are complemented by the talented rapper EPR. She shares, “He effortlessly captures the party mood with his quirky lyrics and powerful spoken word. The on-screen chemistry in the music video enhances the magical vibe of the track, creating a captivating audio-visual experience. EPR’s spoken word segment adds an extra layer of depth to the already catchy composition.”
Married to music director Salim Merchant, she has nevertheless carved a space for herself in the field of music. She adds, “I might be a jazz person at heart, but I’m a through and through lover of good and meaningful music in general.”
The accompanying music video for ‘Lucky Tonight’ has been directed by Tushar Mahajan. It perfectly complements the infectious energy of the song. Speaking about him, Merchant shares, “We work together a lot and he’s just awesome at what he does. He takes the big ideas and uses the most practical tools, time-conserving, great planning methods to give you a big looking video. He knows me so well. He knows that I love drama, and he always gives me just that. He made ‘Lucky Tonight’ look fabulous along with my stylist Khyati who understands my body and gives me the most fabulous looks on set, along with my hair and makeup team Sunil and Sayali.”
‘Lucky Tonight’ has been released by Merchant Records, a record label founded by the acclaimed Indian composer duo Salim-Sulaiman. Known for its commitment to nurturing talent and producing quality music, with mammoth projects like Bhoomi and Soundcheck under its belt, Merchant Records provides a worthy platform for independent artists. “Merchant Records was the perfect platform for us to showcase our collaborative masterpiece to the world,” declares Merchant, adding, “As independent artists, we look for support wherever we can find genuine interest, and I’d like to share a huge thanks to Merchant Records who value art and artistes and their creativity. They allow us to create music with a free mind without worrying about the commercials or a ‘formula’ that has to be followed to create a song. We create what we love and Merchant Records gives us this huge platform that puts our music out there to the listeners and the streaming platforms.”
Santhanam Srinivasan lyer or EPR lyer as he is better known, has been creating a buzz in the music industry for years. He hails from Kolkata and has become a pioneer in the field of emceeing in particular. “I love fiddling with a pen and paper. Letting the words take shape and meaning, of a verse, of poetries that have been unspoken before. I’ve been mastering this art for over a decade now. Carving my own path, while paving the way for the others,” he shares.
Claiming to be inspired by legends like Tupac Shakur, Busta Rhymes, KRS-one, Bob Marley, Rakim, Eminem, and JCole, EPR has carved a niche of his own, with a remarkable range. He draws inspiration from diverse sources like Erykah Badu and Chester Bennington. “I’m largely self-taught but I’m armed with a reservoir of knowledge. So my poetry flows effortlessly, inspired equally by a genre of western music and old-school traditional gharanas. I can croon ‘Mein Ravaa’ with the same conviction that I can sing ‘Ekla Cholo Re’. It isn’t incorrect when they say I don’t have a specific genre because I’m focused on defining my own genre!” he exclaims with confidence.
In 2010, EPR formed the pioneering rock-rap band from Kolkata known as Underground
Authority (UA). True to its name, UA became big first on the college fest circuit, and then by participating in many prestigious band hunts. India’s Got Talent: Khoj 2 put UA on the national map. Names like A.R. Rahman and Nikhil Chinappa applauded their talent, their effort and the hard work they put in. Next came the Hornbill International Rock Competition in 2013. Here, EPR won the award for the Best Vocalist and Underground Authority took home the award for the Best Rock Band. There was no stopping for UA after that. Over the years, UA has headlined NH7 Weekender in places like Shillong, Pune and Kolkata.
As for what’s next on the cards for Merchant, she says, “There’s lots happening. I’m a creator and have a creative mind and soul and cannot stop writing and composing and speaking my mind through my art. I work on building people’s vocals as I am a voice coach too and so you will see a lot of work done by me on that front too in the future. I’ve been consistently releasing my music and have written a lot more which will be out in the coming months.”
‘Lucky Tonight’ by Jeanne Merchant and EPR, is available for streaming on all major music platforms.
Noor Anand Chawla pens lifestyle articles for various publications and her blog www.nooranandchawla.com.