Zaeden is a Mumbai-based singer-songwriter who is well-known in the Indian independent music circuit for his soft electronic pop music, coupled with fresh melodies and simple yet heartfelt lyrics. Starting his music journey at the young age of 14, Zaeden has scaled exponentially over the years. Right from his debut track ‘tere bina’, he’s been a veteran in the millionaire’s club besides his debut album ‘Genesis 1:1’ amassing over 100 million global streams, making it one of the biggest independently released albums.
The singer-songwriter has captured the hearts of millions of fans with his music and established himself as the foremost choice for several global brands by working on trend setting campaigns with brands such as H&M, Gucci, Netflix, Instagram, Jim Beam, Puma, Clinique and more. He has also been featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list as an artist to watch out for and on the cover of several reputed magazines such as GQ, Cosmopolitan, HT Brunch, Brides Today and Rolling Stone India among others. His collaborations with designers Shantanu & Nikhil, Siddharth Tyler and Dhruv Kapoor are a testament to Zaeden’s fashion-forward persona.
What is your new song about? What can your fans expect?
‘Aa Mil’ is a beautiful love song that resonates with the feeling of being so deeply in love with someone that you just can’t get through your day without thinking about them. It’s got a sweet and very easy melody attached to it which makes this a perfect song to play for your partner for every occasion.
Your new song Aa Mil sounds a lot like it’s made for a movie’s romantic scene. Did you have any movie in mind when you created the song? + 3. Hypothetically if the song was for a movie – which celebrities do you picture in the movie as a romantic couple? Who are some of your favourite celebrity couples?
Not any specific movie honestly, but I’d love to see this getting synced in any SRK movie, he’s the king of romance for a reason.
Out of all your music so far, which is your personal favourite song? Why?
It’s very difficult to choose any one song as an artist. But some of my top songs would be ‘Tere Bina’, that’s the first track I put out as a singer. It will always be a special song for me as it holds a distinct innocence through its lyrics and went on to become one of my most loved songs. The next would be ‘Kya Karoon’ as that’s the first time I wrote my own lyrics on a song.
Since your latest India Tour is called Revelation tour, what are some of the revelations you have had in life lately?
There are too many, but my most important Revelation would be connecting with God and focusing on my personal and professional growth.
You have often spoken about how you want to access the US as a music market. What are your plans towards making your music reach more people in the US?
I truly believe that music has no boundaries. Artists like Bad Bunny, J Balvin have spread their music like wildfire and fans are loving their music even if they don’t understand the lyrics. It’s not only the states, but I would love for my music to reach new audiences worldwide. I’m heavily inspired by artists in the West, that’s where my main vision lies. My plan is to be extremely open to new sounds and artists, and hopefully collaborate with them in the near future.
What’s your idea of an inspiring holiday where you would rather be to create more music? Tell us about your favourite places which have inspired you to create more music ?
If there is one place that I’d rather be at, it would be at my home in Delhi. It’s been more than 8 years since I made the move to Bombay and there’s always this internal calling to go home and create music in the same space where it all once began for me.
What’s your creative process like? How do you formulate new music? Do you have a process or does it just come to you?
There is a certain process that I do follow but it depends from song to song. Sometimes, the lyrics of a song may come very naturally to me and I start with writing the song first, other times I sit with the melody first and then formulate the lyrics of the song around it. But mostly the process that I follow is – I first start working on a guitar riff, which turns into a melody, that turns into a voice note, which finally leads to a song.
From Sahil Sharma to Zaeden, how has your transformation been from within?
I won’t term this as ‘transformation’. I believe that Zaeden is an alter ego rather than a whole new identity. From within, I’ve just been blessed and extremely lucky to be loved by so many people. Me standing on stage, listening to fans sing my songs word to word back to me is one of the most breathtaking experiences. I’ve just learnt to be grateful in life for all that I have and strive to become a better version of myself everyday.
What’s next for Zaeden?
There are quite a lot of things that are aligned and a busy few months lay ahead of me. The most immediate one being my ‘Revelation India Tour’ which kicked off in Mumbai on October 6th. I’ll be touring across various cities until December and performing some of my most popular songs live. This year also marks the release of my next music project that is set to release super soon. A massive transition is also in the works that I can’t disclose yet but will come as a huge surprise for my fans.
Do you see yourself foraging into diverse music genres? Which ones?
Yes, of course. As a musician, exploring different genres is key to my artistry. I have been doing that by experimenting and playing around with various sounds which I believe adds a unique touch to my music and breaks through the typical norms of music. I released my first Punjabi single last year with ‘Lagda Na’ and have been incorporating and learning the language in my recently released songs as well. I’m a huge fan of R&B pop, electronic and hip-hop music and I’ve been playing around with these genres in my music too.
