Panda on the tracks
He turned 21 this February and is only one- album- old, yet Nischay Parekh has found a weighty fan following for his music. From his debut album Ocean, which is a compilation of “exercises recorded mostly in bathrooms,” the multi- instrumentalist Nischay Parekh releases a music video called Panda, — a song inspired by William Blake, a track off his debut album. While partially animated, the video also features Nischay Parekh, Jivraj ‘ Jiver’ Singh and Dylan Varner- Hartley and feeds off the dreamy pop sensibilities of the music.
Panda also happens to be Nischay Parekh’s first ever music video. The video has been jointly directed by artist Ayesha Kapadia and writer- photographer Naman Saraiya. The primary footage for Panda, shot in Kolkata, took just under 30 minutes. Ayesha Kapadia has done all the art for the video; the animation has been done by Rishabh Malhotra, and reflects the imagery, that the lyrics of the track evoke.
“Panda had to have a video because of the imagery that’s pouring out of the lyrics and the song. It’s a song that I wanted people to see,” says Nischay Parekh. “We had envisioned many types of music videos. The idea of a single frame and a single shot seemed refreshing and apt for my music. Very low- tech and very unconventional, sort of like my music. And the best part about the video is the animation which has been done on live footage, something that has not much been explored in the Indian context. “
Of the art and direction, Ayesha Kapadia says, “The music has inspired every detail of the video, even though this is pretty much what’s going on in my head at most times. And truth be told, for all the background music to the constant whimsical illusions in my head, Nischay’s music just fits. This video couldn’t have come to me at a better time. Don’t you feel that art just flows better when one is fully connected to the subject? In this case, it’s the music.”
Ocean was released in October last year. Following the success of his album, Nischay Parekh was also one of the few musicians to have played all four editions of Bacardi NH7 Weekender in 2013, and has been consistently gigging since. Earlier this year, he won Best Song at the annual JD Rock Awards, for the track Ocean, also from his
debut record.