Bombay musician Arrows knows how to bring energy to the room. His latest release “To Your World” sees a mix of blues and rock, with touches of folk, creating the ultimate ‘jam band’ feel; bringing sunshine and uplifting vibes. Delivering a world of instrumentation and vibrancy, “To Your World” features musician Raghav Meattle, full of feel-good energy, the track touches on the difficulty of leaving a relationship and the issues with being drawn back into situations that keep you in a toxic cycle.
With influences from the likes of Foo Fighters, Oasis, The Beatles and The Beach Boys, the track embodies multiple genre-influenced instrumentations. With blues charged piano motifs, rocky flushed drums, layered harmonies and wholesome harmonies that rush the track with warmth, this track is bursting with fun and summertime feelings and PopWrapped caught up with Arrows – AKA David Britto – to talk all things music.
You dropped your latest single “To Your World” last month. Where did the inspiration for it come from?
“To Your World” was born out of the notion that there is more to life than just a relationship. It took me a while to figure that out and once I wrote the song it all made sense. I think basically just knowing that there’s more to explore, learn and grow is what the song is about – opening new chapters, meeting different people, working on more exciting projects etc. All these lead to me writing the song and I feel I was able to convey that message.
You collaborate with Raghav Meattle on the track – how did you come to work together?
I’ve known Raghav through the independent music scene here in India and have always loved his song-writing and musical sensibilities. We became good friends and I just asked him on a whim once in 2019 if he’d be up for singing on this song. I sent him a demo I had and he immediately said yes. So that’s how the collaboration came about and I’m super happy with the way it turned out.
Tell me a little about the production.
I began working on the production with my friend and musician/producer Yohanan D’Souza at his home studio in Bombay in 2019. The sessions were really fun, I played acoustic guitar and bass on it while Yohanan added some electric guitar parts of his own. We were all set to get onto the next phase i.e vocals and then the pandemic hit. So we paused on the project for much of 2020 until things finally eased off and we were able to complete tracking when Raghav came by for a session to do his vocals. We aimed to make it sound like a “jam band” sort of vibe – I think that was the inspiration towards how we envisioned the track to sound at the end of production and I feel we accomplished that.
What message or idea do you hope “To Your World” gives those who hear it?
I hope for folks who hear the song that it’s able to uplift them and give them a sense of positive and know that whatever the situation maybe, life has a lot to offer.
How did you find the experience of making the video?
The music video was actually worked on earlier this year when India was in the midst of the second phase of the pandemic. Things were pretty grim here and it wasn’t safe to go out at all, so the girls in the video, actually shot it themselves from their homes and sent me the footage. Once that was done, my video editor Ritik Singh and I went over it over a few video calls to complete the edit. It’s been so gratifying to see the comments on YouTube for the video as it was such a DIY project and I think all the credit goes to the three girls – they’re not professional videographers, but they sure as well served up a product that made it look they are – so kudos to them!
Who do you look to for inspiration in the world of music?
I think a song that connects with you emotionally is one that inspires me. I’m a big rock fan so even the heaviest of rock songs have the ability to do that. I just look for good song-writing; as long as that’s there I’m able to be inspired and connected with that piece of art.
Did you have any favourite music you were listening to at the time of writing and recording “To Your World”?
I was in fact listening to a lot of Oasis at the time and also a lot of Noel Gallagher’s solo material, this was in 2018. I listen to music in cycles, I’ve been listening to Oasis for years and then I stopped and then I got back into them. So I think in the chords too that sort of “Oasis-y” vibe came out. With that in mind for my press pictures around this release, I wore a “Noel” T-shirt just as a nod to that.
Live shows are finally starting up again – do you have any plans to tour or perhaps any gigs lined up?
Live shows are still bleak here in India, some cities are hosting gigs but not at the scale it used to be. Although things are slowly opening up, it’s going to be a while before gigs and festivals here are back up to speed. I’m happy to wait it out as it’s not the same when doing online gigs. So right now, I’ve nothing lined up on that front.
Finally then, what more can we expect from Arrows in 2021?
My aim is to release one more single towards the end of 2021 as well as get a start on recording my debut Arrows EP which I’m looking to release sometime next year.
Check out “To Your World” above and for more information on Arrows, give his page a like on Facebook or follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Header photo credit: Darielle Britto.
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