Gaanpakhi – You & I (feat. Feyago)
The Covid-19 lockdown has had an irreversible, shocking impact on the music industry. Many are now considering alternative jobs and are being forced to reconsider their profession as a musician. Some artistes, however, continue to put out quality music and videos through this pandemic.
With a 13 city album tour postponed indefinitely after only two cities, rapper-producer Feyago was completely devastated, as this would mean zero income for the next year or so. However, instead of succumbing to a heightened sense of depression or considering switching jobs, the artiste decided to step up to the situation, innovate and work around the crisis in order to survive, soar and entertain his fans through these difficult times.
Over the last three months, Feyago has released three singles – Work Song, You & I (featuring fellow EI artist Gaanpakhi) and This Is The End, written and conceptualised by the artist himself. He then involved talented, creative friends from the east, showcasing various talent while keeping the budget to a minimum. All three songs were well received by critics and audiences, and all three songs are now playing on Vh1 India!
How was this possible?
Feyago stated, “I really believe that a good craftsman never blames his tools.” In a positive turn of events, we live in an era where innovation and creativity is celebrated far more than opulence. If you look at the mainstream film industry, smaller films with intelligent screenplays are going the distance in comparison to movies with bigger budgets, brighter stars and larger marketing campaigns. It is really easy to pump in a whole lot of money and make every frame look gorgeous. It is far more difficult but infinitely more rewarding to come up with unique ways to create the same, if not a bigger impact on the minds of today’s audience.
Our aim at EI Entertainment is simple. We only pick the most sincere, heartfelt, real songs from our entire body of work. We then sit and brainstorm for a really long period, trying to come up with unique video ideas which do not require a large budget.
For Work Song, we got in touch with a whole range of artists, dancers, singers and bloggers from the east who were more than happy to do the two steps (one in formal wear and one in casuals, doing what they love). They agreed solely based on the vibe of the song! We have received several reviews for Work Song from Hindustan Times and DesiHipHop, among others.
You & I
You & I is a heartfelt, simplistic ballad without frills. It is Gaanpakhi’s debut single. This is why we created a black and white portrait video where the camera zooms in ever so slightly, with a minimal backdrop and minimal facial expressions. MusicPlus rated this song a 9/10 alongside Prateek Kuhad’s new single.
This Is The End is a feel ukulele rap song with a theme of apocalyptic romance. We decided to showcase skating, an urban sport associated with hip hop since its origin. We showcased a female skater who is keen on encouraging female youth across the country to pick up skating as a lifestyle choice, set in the backdrop of the enchanting Doimukh-Gumto highway of Arunachal Pradesh.
Studios were shut so believe it if you will but all these songs were recorded, produced, mixed and mastered on the phone!
We believe that platform, opportunity, budget and exposure are not factors for success in today’s world. Instead, simplicity, sincerity and consistency are some of the mantras we follow. Fortunately, we have had an incredible start to EI Entertainment and we wish to stick to this formula in the days to come.
What’s next?
Feyago is creating a folk rap album which will release soon and feature some of the greatest folk artists from the East. It will also showcase folk sounds blended with modern hip hop and trap music in order to appeal to music lovers across all ages, gender and nationality. We also have plans to tour abroad with our artistes after the world is a safe place for travelers again. The mission is to popularise east Indian music globally.
