Next year, I will release a single for sure, says KK

Two decades on, KK’s Pyaar Ke Pal and Yaaron send listeners on a trip down memory lane. The singer, whose last album was Humsafar in 2008, has been busy with film tracks and performances across the globe, but the artist in him is itching to do more.

Having sung Kal ki hi baat hai for Chhichhore earlier this year, KK is glad he’s getting traction for film music, but admits there’s a part of him that he “overlooked as an artist and composer”.

“Next year, I’m going to release a song for sure. I think I need to step up my musical ability as a composer. But more than that, I need to change gears. I have been cruising along, enjoying myself, singing, performing... which is great. But now I think I need to do a little more and get out of my comfort zone,” says KK, who toured cities across the USA, Australia and New Zealand earlier this year.

He feels there’s a certain restlessness. “I have been wanting to do some of my own stuff, but when one gets into this space where one has commitments to an audience, to a listener base... you can’t say ‘I don’t want to do shows’ or take a break,” says the singer, whose discography is a clear proof of his versatility.

But now, the Tadap tadap (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, 1999) and Tune maari entriyaan (Gunday, 2014) singer is trying to create a balance to work on his own music, as it’s a desire he has withheld for long.

“When you want to do something yourself, you have to delve deep within and see what you want to do with yourself at this point of time,” he says, adding how he never thought it would take almost a decade after Humsafar for him to come up with some original music.

An album, however, is not on his mind. “I don’t think albums work per se as of now. It’s a very different market. In the last 20 years, things have changed. You’d rather do one single and another one in quick succession. Nobody has patience to go through an album now...myself included (laughs),” says the singer.

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/ OFFICIALVIPULGUPTA Vipul Gupta is currently seen in a web series