India's first multi-genre band Rhapsody that specialises in 17 genres of music catapulted to the limelight after it received accolades for their performances on India's Got Talent 2017.
The band now plans to work on a new sound which will be very fresh for the listeners. While working on their original tracks, Rhapsody is also active in the live event markets apart from working on several collaborations and covers.
From being the quarter-finalists on one of India's most viewed TV reality show - INDIA'S GOT TALENT - Rhapsody is one of the very few versatile bands in the Indian music live space.
Known for their live mashups at shows, this band has come a long way from the tinsel town of Mangalore and now currently located in Mumbai. In an exclusive interview with International Business Times India, the team members spoke about the challenges they faced, what kept them going and about their next song, which is based on body-shaming. The team includes Ashish Palanna, Ria Dsouza, Antony Lobo, Varun Rao, Karan Chitra Deshmukh and Aditya Ahir.
IBT: What made you people decide to form a music band, and were you confident of its success from day 1?
Rhapsody: We come from a place where there is a strong band culture. We were confident that we were a talented bunch of people who would do whatever it takes to put us on the map. And to our advantage, we were very good friends too. We share an amazing chemistry both, on and off stage, as musicians and as friends, which is something many bands out there wish for. We were always confident about the band doing well. But the definition of success kept evolving. Our dreams kept getting bigger and bigger as we achieved more and more in steps. It has been a beautiful learning process and it will always be.
IBT: What are the challenges you faced during the process?
Rhapsody: Although we have been playing as a band for years together, we moved to Mumbai just 2 years back. Coming to this new city, where talent is in abundance, it really took a lot of effort to gig around and to get hold of a team to work on our audio and video content. We just randomly went around meeting people and built a network of our own. One person led to another, and now it's going great and I'm sure it's only going to get better. The Future excites us every day. We know that challenges will always be a constant in our journey. But overcoming these challenges have only made us stronger and we have learnt so much in the process. We are not scared of the challenges that we have to face. We feel it's necessary to deal with it in order to succeed.
IBT: Your next song is based on body-shaming. Have anyone from you people faced it anytime?
Rhapsody: None of us in the band have faced such issues. But a lot of our friends who are really close to us deal with this on a daily basis and they rant about how their families keep pressing them to control what they eat and hit the gym or do yoga etc, in spite of them being happy the way they are and the way they feel in their skin. Or sometimes they can't really help it due to some hormonal issues. This song is in support to all our friends and all the others who face such issues telling them how beautiful they are and asking them to love themselves for the way they look and not care about what the world has to say about them.
IBT: What would you like to suggest to aspiring singers and bands who want to make it big?
Rhapsody: Look at yourself and feel like a superstar even before you become one. Because you become what you always think about. Work hard and have the self-discipline to do things as planned and in the time you planned to finish it. Believe in yourself. Believe in your dreams. Never give up until you make those dreams a reality. Because it is only you that can make it come true.
