Page 33 - Fiji Traveller Issue 2

vocalist Harsha Harshmittal. It was released during the posting to Koro island. Three days after he arrived there,
pandemic and quickly became a local hit. devastating category 5 Cyclone Winston hit.
“Music is like my soul,” says Singh. “The job that I “I hadn’t even introduced myself properly to the
do gets taxing - both physically and mentally. Whenever people there and the cyclone came. It was a disaster.
I would feel stressed, I would play my guitar. I slowly But I stayed there, I helped the people rebuild and I did
found the software as to how to make music. I used to my service to them.
get a lot of song ideas and I used to just bury them. “Koro Island is already a musical place,” says Singh.
There came a time when I thought no, I’m wasting too “So many iTaukei bands come out of there. You can find
many ideas and I should actually do something with melodies just flying in the air. You just have to catch one
them. That’s when I learnt how to produce music and and make a song out of it. Most of the songs that I have
how to record it and how to release it online. That’s how written, I have written in the islands.”
everything started out.” 'Yoloqu' was created in a “two-hour grog session”
He says balancing his job and music can be difficult. in Koro, with the help of lyricist and Koro police chief,
“First of all, they are completely opposite ends of the Ratu Isireli Pareti. The song was included on an album
spectrum,” says Singh. “One is medicine, which is about released by Ratu Isireli’s band.
science and facts, being objective, and the other side Singh says 75% of the songs he writes are in English,
is music which is art and emotions. Zoning in and out and his Hindi vocabulary is limited.
of these two passions of mine becomes difficult. What “But I try to make the most of what I know,” says
keeps me going is that I enjoy both and I love doing Singh. “If you listen to my Hindi songs, you’ll find the
both.” vocabulary is simple but I try to make it colourful in some
Sometimes these words intersect. way.”
“There have been a few songs that I have written He has collaborated with popular Fijian musician KKU
because of my doctor life, especially during Covid,” on the song ‘K.V.Y Love’, which he got the idea for while
he says. “I have written a song which is called ‘Fight on a bus from Lautoka.
Together’ which I dedicated to all the frontliners that “KKU was actually really happy to get into the song
were working hard during that time. with me. Over a couple of weeks I wrote the English and
“I was actually staying in a hotel when I was mobilised Hindi verses and he recorded and sent me the iTaukei
to Rakiraki Hospital,” says Singh. “The thing with me is verses. Then I wrote other small beats in the song,
that if I have to go somewhere for a long period of time produced it and finally released it on Fiji Day last year.”
I will take a skeleton version of my recording studio. So Ra V plans to release three or four songs a year.
that if I get some inspiration for a song, or lyrics or a “I have so many songs that I have yet to release…so
beat, I’ll just put it down while I’m in the room. I saw I’ll keep them coming.” He says he would like to produce
how our frontliners were struggling - staying away from a full album if he can make the time.
family, working long hours, so I felt obligated to make a “I don’t get time to perform live as my work is so
song. I wrote that song in that room and I recorded it in demanding, so that’s my future plan to do more acoustic
that room, and then I released it there.” shows and live shows.”
Singh sings and creates songs in all three national
languages of Fiji – iTaukei, Hindi and English. youtube.com/@rav291
“I don’t have a specific genre,” says Singh. “I do what
I feel like – I’ve done rap songs, I’ve done reggae songs,
I’ve done pop songs, soul, R&B songs and a bit of hip
hop. Just like there’s no genre I’m specific to, there’s no
language I’m specific to.”
He released his first iTaukei song, ‘Yoloqu’ during a

33