CHINTAN CHAUHAN – SINGER AND A SONGWRITER

Chintan, a 27-year songwriter from Surat, regards in expressing his life journey through music.
In December 2018, he profoundly directed his intellect to become a seasoned independent artist from a corporate Civil engineer’s lifestyle. An adventure-loving fellow and an avid explorer, Chintan spent a couple of months in the lap of Himalayas along with his band, performing in the streets of Parvati valley, old Manali, and Kaza of Spiti valley; living in nature to unfold the unexplored dimensions of life. “That’s one of the most significant turning points in my life”. He is kind of a person who could transfer his bio cycle from being nocturnal to a day person and vice-versa. He has released three singles so far and aimed to come up with a lot more.

Here is Chintan Chauhan in a conversation with GOGO Magazine.

1) When did your journey as a musician begin?

My journey started in 2001 when I fell in love with playing the keyboard. I was seven years old back then.

A couple of years later, a cultural event took place where I was performing as well. It was so cultural that the event was running late, and my performance was the last one. The so-called professional people managing sound turned it off in the middle of my performance due to the time limit. The audience got confused and started leaving. Looking at my disappointed face, my uncle rushed to the sound people, had a word with them, and got it sorted. A group of considerate enough people stayed back. It was one of my best performances and the most memorable one too. If it weren’t for that, I don’t think I would have had the confidence ever to perform. The smile on the audiences’ faces is what kept me going then, and even now.

2) Tell us more about your life as a civil engineer.

I learned a lot about human behavior while working as a Business Development Manager in a Construction Chemical Company. Also, I had to develop a certain kind of discipline to keep in touch with my art. Hence, I used to wake up super early to practice and all. Those were my hard-working days which drew me to an opportunity to be a part of a prestigious project, “Statue of Unity.” But I could take the corporate world for a concise period of 5 months. In December 2018, I took the big leap of faith towards becoming an Independent Artist.

3) Which has been your first track.

Samay Ka Pahiya is my debut single. Although this is not the first song that I’ve written, I picked it after much brainstorming and listening sessions with my friends. And a special thing about this song is its spontaneity in creation. For me, some songs take months or even years to complete. It hardly took me 10 minutes to compose Samay Ka Pahiya.

4) Who has been your inspiration?

I keep learning different things from different musicians. I’ve been influenced by John Lennon’s wonders for a long time. I often look up to the Indian Ocean and Kailash Kher’s Kailasa. Ray LaMontagne and Jason Mraz have played a significant role in helping me improve my songwriting skills lately.

5) Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

My vision is that my songs connect with millions of people all across the globe. I keep collaborating with a lot of independent artists now and then. Also, I do perform live with bands at varied music festivals.

6) How would you describe your music?

My music is primarily an emotion freed into the universe. Every song is a feeling where you can be with yourself, enjoy, and sometimes let your mind discover some truth with it. I try to convey some messages in every piece of music that I create.

7) Which has been your most memorable project or song?

My most memorable project is my next lined up release. ‘Adhura Gaana’ is going to be released around the end of July 2021. It’s the first song in which we’ve recorded all the instruments live, including drums and violins. While working on this project, I loved collaborating with upcoming artists in the city and working very closely with them.

8) How would you describe your experience while performing on the streets of Manali and Spiti valley?

It for sure has to be one of the best experiences so far. In Manali, I, along with my bandmates, started jamming in the middle of a street and after a few minutes, people started gathering around, and after a while, the road was blocked. People were singing with us, requesting a lot of songs and we all had crazy fun. We actually collected more money there, than what we used to earn from some gig! My band (Breaking Bumpers) is the first-ever band to perform in Kaza of Spiti Valley. We were really lucky to have the privilege of exploring and performing amid the serenity of Kaza. Singing there is a bit tricky since the air is so thin. Though we really enjoyed performing in front of people from the USA, Israel, Germany, and Russia.

9) Share some of your achievements with the magazine.

In 2013, I won bronze at a national level competition in a classical non-percussion instrumental solo competition held by VNSGU, Surat. In the same year, I represented Gujarat state in the classical guitars category at the Youth Festival held by the Govt. of India.

10) How was life in quarantine?

Frankly, quarantine turned to be a boon to me. I had ample time to polish my songwriting skills, prepare my vocals and cultivate new instrument playing skills. I took a loan offered by the Gujarat govt, established a production studio at home with the help of my friends and family. From there, my actual journey as a music producer began. I started devoting my time to the basic production concepts, and with the help of that, I rigorously started producing multiple songs. The journey of learning hasn’t come to an end. But yes, I have been learning a lot since then.

INSTAGRAM : @chintanchauhan

YOUTUBE : CHINTAN CHAUHAN

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