In this sizzling issue, Grazia International’s Beauty Editor – Kaniz Ali interviews and styles world renowned musician Raghav. Renowned for his super hit album ‘Storyteller” which sold over 1.4 million copies which then led onto him winning multiple awards at the MOBOs , Asian Music Awards & The Urban Music Awards, last year Raghav’s mega track chartbuster “Teri Batoon” also went viral on social media along with his latest track ‘Desperado” in collaboration with Tesher. The indo-canadian singer speaks exclusively to Kaniz talking about his love for music and staying true to himself.
CEO: Zahraa Saifullah
Managing Editor: Nashmia Amir Butt
Creatively Directed By Kaniz Ali
Photography By Danny Singh
Raghav’s Creative Styling By Kaniz Ali
Wardrobe: Cameran Menswear
Assisted By Iman Chana
Location: Colonel Saab, London, Uk
KANIZ: Talk to us about your background
RAGHAV: I was born in Toronto but raised in western Canada on a diet of old Bollywood songs mixed with Motown, pop and country music. Music was a priority in the home. Mom played Mohammed Rafi, Dad played Harry Belafonte and my sister was listening to everything Kishore Kumar voiced for Amitabh Bachchan while I was listening to Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder… somewhere in the hallways of that cocktail of sounds, I created my own.
KANIZ:- What inspired you to head into the world of music ? How did you first get noticed ?
RAGHAV: My first brush with validation when it comes to being a singer was when I was four years old. Family members were visiting from abroad and they all sang songs on long road trips throughout Western Canada. When it came to my turn, they simply asked my mom if I had any talent, and of course, not knowing what I had up my sleeve, she replied with a no! What mom didnʼt know is that I had memorized a cassette tape that had been stuck in our 1982 Ford Granada, entitled Dev Anand song hits. I sang from beginning to end the song Hai Apna Dil to Awada and people responded rather favourably.. I truly believe from that moment at four years old I knew I was gonna be a singer..
KANIZ:- What aspect of being a singer do you enjoy the most ?
RAGHAV – Ironically, one of my favourite parts of being a singer is actually being a songwriter. The idea that you can have both melodies and lyrics in your head that start as a seed of an idea and grow into a tree and eventually a forest when people start singing it back to you is something words cannot describe. Also, the idea that I listened to such a vast array of genres of music growing up and I’m able to incorporate that with what I can do with my voice is something I take great pride in , and I know it sometimes doesn’t always fit into a category and perhaps that’s been an encumbrance towards my career being a straight line in an industry that likes to put people in boxes, but it gives me great satisfaction that I can sing in hindi or an R&B song or something that’s edgier pop and do so comfortably and hopefully the listeners feel it’s honest.
KANIZ:- What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses as a singer ?
RAGHAV:- I think my greatest strength is a singer is the diversity of sounds that I can produce with my voice in multiple languages and genres. I’m also proud of my range. There’s usually not a song too low or too high for me. There’s a lot of things that I could do better for sure to reach loftier heights in this game, but I’m incredibly proud of the voice. The universe gave me and I hope that fans feel the same.
KANIZ:- What have been your favourite moments in the industry as a singer?
RAGHAV:- I’ve been really lucky that in the last 20 years music has allowed me to travel the whole world meeting tens if not hundreds of thousands of different people and receive accolades from all of the world. But my favourite part about this job is that in recent years I’ve been able to really enjoy it free from the pressure of being in the music business , having decided to concentrate on just being a happy musician. I’m finding tremendous joy in this renaissance I’m having with the recent hits because my eight year-old daughter gets to see me do what I’ve been doing for so long with wonderment on her face when I perform, I don’t know how long that will last but I’m loving it right now. Also, with the loved ones in my life, who’ve been there the whole time, who may have thought a few years back they wouldn’t see anything like this again, the fact that they get to enjoy this with me is very special.
KANIZ:- Which has been your most challenging situation in the music business date?
RAGHAV:- Around 2007 the music industry went through an incredible paradigm shift, I had thought because of my recent success that I may survive the catastrophic changes that were happening in the entertainment business. I was most definitely wrong about that despite selling millions of albums and having staggering numbers for my life performances, the truth is that most top music executives didn’t think of my success as a meritocracy, but rather, because of my south Asian background had pegged me as a novelty act. I struggled with that in my 30s, which was a difficult time for me both professionally and personally. I went from having major label support in an unparallelled campaign for my debut album, to having to do everything independently from then until now, and it took some stumbling and falls to learn how to navigate this world myself. I have the scars to prove it. But I’m proud to say that I know it’s made me stronger and being able to enjoy the success of the recent hits as an independent act is now only possible because of that difficult time.
KANIZ:- Are there any artists that you consider role models yourself?
RAGHAV:- There are dozens of artists that I look up to for a multitude of reasons, but if I had to pick one, it would be the great Tina Turner. Tina had to go through professionally and personally in terms of the abuse that she faced cannot be compared to anybody, however, I take tremendous inspiration from someone who basically lost everything they had built up in their 20s and 30s, to start with nothing all over again in their early 40s, but her name ended up being the greatest at what she did. I try to embody that mentality in everything that I do. To say that Tina Turner second chapter was even bigger than her first is an understatement. While I hope to accomplish the same in some fashion myself, I remind myself that my obstacles paling comparison to what she went through and that it is possible. She was a remarkable woman and deserves endless praise not only for what she overcame, but what she did for others through her music.
KANIZ:- How do you maintain your physical and emotional health while working on such demanding projects?
RAGHAV:- The truth is maintaining my physical appearance has always been a challenge for me. I struggle with putting on and losing weight very quickly and it’s been hard to get into any sustainable rhythm that I would call success in that part of my life, but just a few months ago, I got married. And I can’t , overstate what a beautiful and calming role my wife has played in my life. It’s funny that when you start looking at someone else, loving them, and wanting to be better for them that you find strength you did not know you had before… by marrying a musician she’s sacrificed what anyone might describe as a “normal“ life and I cannot thank her enough for it. Her belief and support gives me the drive to be better in this area and hopefully by next winters edition
Off this publication, I’ll be able to tell you some of my best workout tips.
KANIZ:- What has been your favourite song that you’ve created and why is it your favourite ?
RAGHAV:- This is an almost impossible question to answer. There’s a song on my first album. Storyteller called Ain’t Nobody. I’m extremely proud of it because it pushed boundary sonically and weighs that people hadn’t really tried before and if you listen to it now, I think it stands the test of time for its freshness and ingenuity. in 2017 I released a song called Sufi written by the tremendously talented Akshaye SHINDE. It’s beautiful composition as I’ve ever heard and I’m proud that he let me sing it, but I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that the song that means the most is Teri Baaton, not just because it was number 120 years ago and then again this year with its second incarnation as a Bollywood song in a film that was titled after the song itself because I wrote that song with my mom in 2003. My parents were unconditionally supportive of my career lifelong and every time I thought that it was time to give up, they encouraged me to continue. I am so sad that dad passed away two years ago and couldn’t ride the wave of what happened with the film version of Teri Baaton this year and with Desperado the year before that, he would have loved it and was proud that mom had written such timeless lyrics and was always proud and supportive of me. My mom is endlessly talented and I believe that she wrote a timeless classic with that song, and it seems the world agrees. I’m proud of her.
KANIZ:- Name your favourite memorable moments in your career
RAGHAV:- Again, I’ve been lucky that over the span of 20 years, there’s been many landmark moments however one that sticks out the most is my first time on top of the Pops in the UK. For those that top of the pops was the gold standard of music programming maybe in the world and the fact that January 2003 I was invited to perform live was a real “I made it “moment. Not only was it validating for me, but hugely so for the friends and family that it supported me in the very Line years leading up to that moment. One person to whom I owe a great debt gratitude is my first manager, Nyrone, who stuck with me and believed in me for many years before top of the Pops and I vividly recall getting off stage and giving him a big hug. on that day, it was hard to know if there was anything else that would happen in my career or if that was it and for that moment, at least that was my only moment in the spotlight I had felt like I had truly made it. And so for that reason, despite all the amazing things that have happened since it remains truly memorable
KANIZ:- How do you handle criticism in the industry?
RAGHAV:- I’ve sort of developed a rhinoceros hide when it comes to the cruel nature of some of the keyboard warriors that we have on our planet. The truth is, I don’t take that as true criticism, but rather as a sign of an incredibly toxic society for which I sadly don’t see , an end at this time. Having said that there are many people who offer truly valuable creative criticism, and I welcome it. It’s help me be a better person and a better artist, and sometimes there’s just things people say that I disagree with and you have to stick to your belief system in who you are as an artist. I see that often with the great A R Rahman. When he releases new music, I see people sometimes criticize it without giving it enough time to digest it’s Genius and then when I look at the comment section a few years later, very predictably the compliments flow endlessly because he’s so far ahead that sometimes it takes a minute to catch up to what you’re hearing and how magical it is.
KANIZ:- How do you manage family life and working life?
RAGHAV:- For the first 12 years of my career, this was not something I really had to address because the truth is that my family managed it for me, they had no expectations of me other than to be happy for myself and perform for my fans and make music that I loved . That all changed when my daughter Riya was born in 2016. In an instant, there was finally someone that I loved more than music. Like any new parent it was very difficult to be away from her when I was working or on the road on tour. Being totally honest with you, I share parenting duties for my daughter, as her mother and I are not together. Living in Calgary and having to tour or work in places very far from there has been challenging, but the reward of coming home to my daughter has made it all worthwhile. As I mentioned earlier, that’s changed this year in a very big way because I’ve married the love of my life. I’m not gonna lie and tell you that it’s been easy and frankly, there were many times where I would lament that my personal life was not going the way that I would’ve drawn it up, but now I can say with full confidence that whoever was drawing it was creating a masterpiece, and endlessly thankful that with my wife, my daughter and the rest of my family I’ve been blessed beyond words.
KANIZ:- ) If Raghav was not a singer what would he be?
RAGHAV:- If I was not a singer, I’d probably be very much unemployed. The truth of the matter is there’s nothing else I do particularly well compared to this. I have a deep passion for sports particularly ice hockey, and I may have found a way to enter that in some sort of administrative or media based role but again I’m not sure. I found myself in recent years with more knowledge of what artist go through, wanting to advocate for their rights and best interests and for this reason I’ve often thought that I might at some point in my life, pursue a career in law to represent people in the arts. I’m not sure if that will ever happen, but it’s becoming an increasingly, bigger passion in my soul.
KANIZ:- What are your top 3 Fashion must haves?
RAGHAV:-
1. Louis Vuitton Hockenheim loafers
2. Along black Kurta
3. Jewellery accessories that tell a story about you
KANIZ:- What do you like doing in your spare time?
RAGHAV:- Growing up in western Canada and living in Liverpool and London makes this an easy answer to give you. I want to chase the sun. There are not enough beaches in the world to quench my thirst for sand and sun.
I also love cooking.
KANIZ:- What is the best advice to give to someone starting new in the world of music?
RAGHAV:- The art is in the heart, not in the chart .
KANIZ:- What are your plans for the next five years?
RAGHAV:- I plan on releasing a whole bunch of music spanning many many different genres. I want to be in my artistry in a way that there are no boundaries for the kind of music that I release and I wannahave fun doing it. I also would welcome if the universe saw fit , a sibling or two for my daughter.
KANIZ:- How do you switch off and relax?
RAGHAV:- This has been very difficult for me over the years, and the truth is the only time I’m ever truly able to switch off is when I’m watching ice hockey. For whatever reason when I’m immersed in that, I’m able to completely shut everything else out, beyond that I’ve struggled with this a great deal.
