Recently releasing the first acoustic single, ‘Ajnabi’, from his upcoming debut album, Ajab Ishq…maati da, in association with Songdew and Nano Twist, Harpreet seems to be a musician who has very vividly impressed his upbringing and personality on his music. We recently had the chance to speak to the musician about various dimensions of his music career and his responses seem highly encouraging, especially for those who think that investment in this field rarely pays off.

Naturally, seeing the rise of a musician into the limelight who didn’t have the necessary resources at hand to facilitate the process prompted us to begin with dwelling upon his background and the obstacles he faced. To this, Harpreet said, “I always wanted to compose music. In fact, I had no idea what independent music is when I came to Delhi from Kurukshetra. As time passed, I started writing and composing songs out of my experiences in life. And then one day I was told that I am an independent musician. About the hurdles, I would say I really cherish what I do, so even in difficult times, I enjoyed playing my guitar. If you do what you want to do then nothing is a hurdle. My friends always trusted me and my music which added flavor to my journey.”

Listening to his track as well as his ideas, one can somehow decipher the clarity and resoluteness the musician radiates regarding the ‘hows’ and ‘whats’ of the field. Asked to tell us something about the musical significance of his recent single and the upcoming album, Harpreet had to say, “'Ajnabi' is a very extempore conversation between me and a stranger within me. I’m asking the stranger about life, love and time and the answers I get are nothing but whatever I learnt from my experience. The album, of which this single is a part, is under production and we are doing a crowd funding campaign to raise some funds so that I can complete the remaining work.” Interestingly, the album is being produced by Susmit Sen who happens to be a long time friend of Harpreet, and moreover as pointed out by the musician, was the goading stick behind the idea of producing an album.

The musician also had a lot of positive things to say about the aid he got from Songdew and Nano Twist, which have helped expand his reach through their Music Premiere initiative. Owing a lot to these two companies in this independent music clique - and rightfully so - Harpreet told us, “When we planned to release the album, we approached almost all the music labels but Songdew, partnering with Nano Twist, really appreciated the work I’m doing. We need to have platforms/partnerships like this to give an opportunity for the artist to believe in what they are doing. It gives you that confidence.”   

Although there is a strong presence of a self-confessed nervousness regarding his debut album, the musician has several plans for the future which would keep him occupied, including working on a football anthem for a sports company, collaborating with other musicians (recently he worked with the members of Delhi band Barefaced Liar), and experimenting with different languages and styles.

Listen to, and download, 'Ajnabi' by Harpreet here.