I look at an album as a canon of my artistic work: Raghav

Angel Eyes hitmaker Indo-Canadian artiste Raghav made a comeback of sorts with his single Maayera recently. The last one he released, Until the Sun Comes Up featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Nelly, was in 2015. Before the two, he has collaborated with other international musicians such as Iceberg Slimm (Can’t Get Enough), Redman (My Kinda Girl) and many more. However, when it comes to teaming up, he states, “AR Rahman is someone I would love to keep working with.” The two have earlier worked together on Ishq Shaava (Jab Tak Hai Jaan) and Mawwali Qawwali (Lekar Hum Deewana Dil). Raghav is equally impressed with Indian-American music producer and singer Sid Sriram (It Isn’t True), whom he has worked with in Los Angeles.

As for albums, it’s been seven years since Raghav released his last full-length record — Phoenix (2012). But he is not in a hurry to put one out because it’s the time of singles and short attention span. The artiste observes, “There are so many benefits to where we are in terms of technology and the way we consume art. We listen to so many things and genres don’t mean anything anymore. For me, the challenge is to be better than anybody else. I look at an album as a canon of my artistic work of the last four-five years. But, nowadays, people are more concerned about what you have done in the last four-five weeks.”

That being said, Raghav also says that he misses cutting a record because a musician can say so much more through it and it’s a way to leave one’s musical legacy behind. “That’s why albums have always appealed to me. I’m not going to be picky because you don’t get upset or bitter about how the industry changes, you just look at the musicians and roll with it,” he concludes.