Vish talks Music Career, Busking & More

In the universe of fresh Desi musicians, Vish glimmers with talent and promise.

He began his forays into music as a busker and has gone on to enchant the audience with a unique fusion of Bollywood melodies and Western rhythms.

Vish released a single named ‘Friday Night‘ which soared to No 6 on the Black Music Charts. 

As he basks in the euphoria of ‘Doing To Me‘, DESIblitz caught up with Vish as he shared some insights into his career, his days as a busker and plenty more. 

What attracted you to music?

To be honest, when I was in school, I always wanted to learn the guitar.

After I learned the guitar, I just tried to sing some songs. We had a small TV and I used to listen to a lot of English songs.

There was a channel called MTV. The song ‘Baby’ was very popular. 

As I watched the TV, I was just trying to sing it but at that time, I didn’t know English and I was just writing it down on paper.

To put it simply, I just wanted to impress people and tell them: “I can sing.”

So I just came into music for fun. I never thought I’d do it professionally.

Can you tell us a bit about your busking experiences?

I started busking when I moved to the UK. I saw Justin Bieber and Ed Sheeran performing on the streets.

When I came to the UK, I thought that if I went to the streets, maybe I’d get picked up by a record label. 

I started travelling to different cities and after a few years, I realised that I’d got to do Indian music as well.

When you busk, you sing a lot. I usually sang for 40 minutes to one-and-a-half hours but when I started busking I did five-and-a-half hours.

I would go out every single day and sing. It helped me with my vocals and you also see different kinds of people on the streets. 

Every day, you see a different kind of audience and you learn how to engage with people. You learn how to handle good and bad situations.

The good thing is that you make so many connections because you never know who you’re going to meet.

People start to know you so that’s the main benefit of busking.

What kind of Indian music did you start to sing?

I remember I was in Oxford and one of my relatives was just passing by.

She said: “Can you sing an Indian song?” 

I wasn’t sure because I was in a city where it’s hard to find Indians. I was also a bit nervous too. 

I did ‘Tum Hi Ho’ by Arijit Singh and I posted a clip on Instagram as well. That was the first Indian song I sang on the streets. 

After that, I continued singing all the English songs. Nobody ever requested me to sing specific songs but due to that video – ‘Tum Hi Ho’ – I met my girlfriend. 

We were in a relationship and after a few months, she said: “Hey Vish, why don’t you sing more Hindi songs?”

I said no because I wanted to be like Justin Bieber and One Direction. 

I remember I was in Reading and it was my girlfriend who really pushed me and said: “Look, there’s so many Indians here.

“If you sing, maybe you’ll get a crowd.”

I said I couldn’t do that and at that point, another Indian came and my girlfriend said: “Sing this one song.”

I sang one song and I got a bit of a crowd. People donate money too and I got over £200 in just one-and-a-half hours!

The crowd got bigger so that’s how I got into Indian music but even after that, I wasn’t really confident.

It took a bit of time to sing Indian songs but finally, I did it.

Can you tell us about ‘Friday Night’, and what other songs have you enjoyed?

When I was listening to English music, I always wanted to create a song on a club.

‘Friday Night’ was the idea of mixing English and Indian and to see how people would respond to it.

Some other songs such as ‘Doing To Me’, ‘Hands On Me’, and ‘Out of Time’ were all different ideas.

I speak Punjabi as well so in some of the songs, I mix Punjabi, Hindi, and English. 

I saw a lot of people collaborate with major artists and they mixed certain languages.

I said to myself: “I used to sing in English and now I can sing in Hindi as well.

“Why don’t I just mix up all the languages and try to come up with something on my own?”

So these were the ideas I put together and came up with my EP, ‘Believe’ and ‘Friday Night’.

What do you find appealing about performing live and how does that differ from the recording studio and busking?

I would say that in busking, you have to gather the crowd and get their attention because they aren’t expecting anything.

But in concerts, people are there to listen to you and they’re expecting songs from you. That’s very different from busking.

Anything could happen in busking. It could be raining and you’ve got to handle people on the streets. Can you hear yourself while you’re singing in the area?

Shows like Wembley and O2 are just different because people are just there to listen to you. 

If I didn’t do busking, I wouldn’t be able to handle all these big crowds.

Over the years, I got experience from busking. So when I’m onstage, if I don’t get nervous, it’s just because of busking.

Are there any other musicians who have influenced you in your career?

I like Michael Jackson and there are a lot of other artists as well. For example, I used to sing a lot of Bruno Mars.

I’m creating Indian music right now and there are some techniques that I was using in English music that I feel I have to bring to Indian music.

Arijit Singh is one of my favourites but I don’t have any one favourite singer. 

I would say that there isn’t one because I believe that everyone has their own style. 

For example, Arijit Singh’s raspiness is so soothing. At the same time, Sonu Nigam has that sweetness.

So everyone has their own style and I won’t compare anyone.

What advice would you give to budding musicians?

Consistency – if you want to do something and it’s not working, never stop.

Keep doing it again and again. Sometimes, I feel like stopping something as well but I keep to it and then I realise, if I stop, maybe I wouldn’t have got this opportunity months ago.

When I started busking, so many people were not supporting me.

But I was still doing it. I was still going out on the streets and I never had money either.

I never thought of money. I just had to keep doing it. That’s how I got all these big opportunities.

You have to believe in yourself. For example, if you want to perform Gujarati songs and that’s your dream, you will do that if you believe in yourself or any other language.

Can you tell us about ‘Doing To Me’ and your future projects?

‘Doing To Me’ is from my EP, ‘Believe’ and it’s produced by PENGWIN & K.

This new one is going to be remixed and we actually shot a music video for the remix version.

This song is in Punjabi and English and it is very upbeat. You can perform it everywhere. It’s a very energetic track.

As a person, how has music changed your life?

Music can change my mood. For example, with me, music works so fast.

If I’m angry and I listen to a certain genre, I would calm down straight away.

Music just goes straight into my heart and it changed me very quickly. It taught me self-patience, self-belief, and self-love.

I’m still a very introverted person. Without music, I wouldn’t be able to speak to people or do this interview because I would get nervous.

Because of music, I learned how to speak to people and meet them. It taught me how to handle these situations.

With such a glistening body of work and a great story behind it, Vish is one of the most inspiring modern musicians. 

He has amassed a total of over 200 million followers across social media which is a testament to his talent.

Reflecting on his journey, Vish added:  “The coming together of all cultures is the new way of the world, and I reflect this in my music with multilingual lyrics fused with Western production.

“I hope to make Bollywood music more palatable to those who might not have given it a chance before.”

“This sense of unity drives me to do what I do.”

Supported by the iconic B Praak, Vish is set to embark on an exciting UK tour encompassing Morningside, Leicester, Leeds Direct Arena, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, and O2 Indigo, London.

The tour begins on September 20, 2024, and ends on September 28.

So, be sure to keep an eye out for the beacon of inspiration, the rising star, Vish.