‘The idea is to stop thinking about genre as a specific aspect’: Imaad Shah

From playful electro-funk, swing and cabaret, Imaad Shah and Saba Azad aka Madboy/Mink, have ventured into a maturer synth-infused and psychedelic sound for their third EP together — Persons. Elastic. Superior. Fantastic (PESF). Imaad (Madboy) talks to us about this sonic shift and more things.

A NEW SOUND

Currently touring for the EP, Imaad reveals that the duo has broadened their base of listeners. And while it is for the audience, for them the sound is not new because they have been jamming on it for a while. “We have a lot more unreleased stuff that we play together, but the audience only hears what we put out, which is literally just one side of our musical personality,” Imaad elaborates. Being singer-songwriters, musicians and producers, they write music all the time. “Tons of ideas come out but not all are completed,” he adds.

MORE AT EASE

As a new band, Madboy/Mink were careful about what people heard from them and how they released their works. But, that’s about to change. “Now that we have got the acceptance and have built a fan base, we are more at ease and freer to experiment. So far we have mostly done dance and disco-oriented music but that’s just one of the many sounds that we dabble in,” Imaad says. The singer-guitarist states the reason, “The idea is to stop thinking about genre as a specific aspect. Actually, that’s always been the plan for us. Even if we are inspired by a certain style, we reinterpret it and not adhere to a norm.” 

SOUND IN FUTURE

Going forward, they plan to do mellower and more spacy stuff. “We want to allow the musical idea to dictate what the song will become, instead of premeditating anything. In the Madboy/Mink world, we can do anything and there are no boundaries,” Imaad tells us. At the same time, for them, it’s about creating their trademark sound even if they cross-pollinate genres. Depending on how much time they can afford to spend in the studios, they are keen to release their next record as soon as they can. It will have more varied music and there are also some video ideas. 

Imaad adds that though in the dance gamut, their oeuvre is becoming more political. “What we are seeing in the world and where the country is headed affects any artiste. So, our output is also angrier and more punk now,” he avers. 

TRACKS AS A SINGER-SONGWRITER

The musician started as a singer-songwriter where the emphasis was more on the lyrics and thoughts. “The interplay between words and music is enjoyable. As a result, I was writing songs a lot. I may release some of those tracks as well,” Imaad says. With these pieces, he also intends to break down the lingo barriers by dropping bilingual numbers — in Hindi, English as well as a combination of the two.