Sanjay Maroo: Indian artistes are not scared to create what they want

Singer-composer Sanjay Maroo, known for his hit 90s single Tu Hi Tu, is set to return to the indie scene after five years. And, he’s all praise for the current independent music scenario. He feels the musicians today are confident and audacious. “It makes me happy to see that Indian artistes are not scared to create what they want to. Back in the day, there was a hangover, as many artistes tried to be original, yet conformed to the tastes of the film audience, as music labels felt that it would ensure economic safety. A few like Silk Route, Pentagram, Indian Ocean, and I went exactly the opposite way and only did what we wanted to do,” he says.

Maroo adds that going against the tide at a time when the world was embracing the remix culture wasn’t easy. “It took courage to do that (make original music), particularly in the face of the opportunistic trend of remixes being pushed everywhere. In my opinion, that was the darkest period that we, indie artistes, had ever seen, when every resource — from studio time to store shelves and TV screens — were bombarded with mindless rehashed versions of classics,” explains the Kal Ka Bharosa composer-singer.

Maroo agrees that the pandemic slowed things down for him, but he’s set to release a lot of music now. “I have decided to release only singles. Over the last few years, I’ve been able to write some different material in Hindi and English and I intend to keep releasing these tracks frequently. Also, there are some interesting Indian and international collaborations that are in the discussion stage. On the drumming side, our Carnatic fusion band Bluefire is in the process of writing new material,” he ends.