Vaibhav Pani Is Winning Hearts With Alt Balaji’s ‘Galliyan’

Vaibhav Pani Is Winning Hearts With Alt Balaji’s ‘Galliyan’

Music producer Vaibhav Pani has been winning hearts with his new song ‘Galliyan’ from Alt Balaji and Zee5 Originals’ web series ‘Bebaakee’. Vaibhav has collaborated with Bollywood singer and composer Akhil Sachdeva for ‘Galliyan’. 

In an exclusive conversation with My City Links, Vaibhav informed that ‘Bebaakee’ is probably Alt Balaji’s biggest show till date. “I am so glad that people are loving our work. My first venture with Alt Balaji was for “Sukoon” for a show called “It Happened In Calcutta,” he said.

For Vaibhav, Akhil is more like a brother than a musician. “When we have nothing to do, we just sit and jam in my studio. But now, most of our conversations happen over phone and voice notes as he works remotely and we meet once in two-three months. Our first project together was the reprised version of ‘Tera Ban Jaunga’. “Galliyan” was recorded in three different cities. Akhil’s vocals were recorded in Delhi, Asees Kaur’s in Mumbai and I recorded the acoustic guitar in Bangalore as I was on a musical tour,” he informed.

Vaibhav is also a part of ‘The Yellow Diary’ band as a guitarist and had debuted as a music producer with the song ‘Wahin’ with Mohit Gaur. He said, “I used to produce music for Vishal Mishra in those days. Vishal’s role in my musical career has been very crucial. He encouraged and helped me to learn and understand the entire process of making a song in the industry. During this period, Mohit came to know about me and ‘Wahin’ happened. The song holds a special place in my heart.” 

The music producer believes that being a part of a band and to work as a freelancer are two different things. The most important thing required for music production is the freedom to envision and experiment with the creation of the composer.

In a special collaboration with Odisha’s Anurag Mishra, Vaibhav worked on the track ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’ for the album ‘Project Swa’. “Though my roots are not in Indian classical music, I work on it a lot. So to be able to have that kind of soundscape and go back to what my cinematic music influences were as a kid gave me a lot of satisfaction. For three years, I was constantly asking myself whether I made the right decision by leaving corporate to pursue music. Working for ‘Teri Meri Kahaniyaan’ made me realise that I made the right choice,” he said.

Vaibhav feels that an artist should be flexible and versatile with changing times and trends. “When it comes to western music, I drown myself in theory to understand it. But the sound that comes naturally to me is electronic. My trial files are full of genres I haven’t produced till date. For many years, I have been learning various genres because I need to be prepared as a producer. And the beautiful thing about learning is that you can decide how to implement them and keep on experimenting. For example in ‘Galliyan’, there are various elements,” he said.

Explaining further, Vaibhav said, “I and lyricist Vayu Shrivastav have worked together in two songs called ‘Baatein Karo’ and ‘Mummy’. With ‘Baatein Karo’, we worked on a genre called ‘lo-fi’ which was loved by the label as well as the audience. It’s important to maintain integrity while doing something unique. It is because of Vayu I started getting into the skin of the lyrics because he writes very uniquely. I would also like to thank Jugaad Motion Pictures which is infusing life into songs of artists like Ritviz and Prateek Kuhad. It is a production house which understands the needs of the songs.”

Speaking about the stability of new talents in the industry, he said, “Right now, it’s an unpredictable time due to the pandemic. COVID-19 outbreak has brought a lot of difficulties for us artists. Economic unpredictability has increased due to the pandemic. So I would advise upcoming talents to work on their skills as much as they can. Even if you aren’t able to release a song, make it subjective on a case to case basis. Besides, focus on your mental health and stay positive.”

“There are a lot of upcoming projects for commercial movies, OTT platforms and independent films. I am eagerly waiting for the time when all our works will be out as I have been working with so many skillful artists,” Vaibhav added.