Rohan Solomon is a Singer-Songwriter, Composer, Vocal Coach and Audio Engineer, all rolled into one. In between the time he spent in his hometown New Delhi and New York City, his love for pop-choruses grew along with his reputation of being a ‘conscious songwriter’.
After winning accolades for Keep Holding On, his first single of 2020 that was inspired by the Coronavirus lockdown-led social isolation, Rohan released Victoria’s Secret in June, that took the story ahead from (the plot of his last single) the initial stages of anxiety and fear to introspection.
Rohan’s 3rd release of 2020 Without A Trace was a pensive power ballad accompanied by warm and very contagious sounds of a small symphony orchestra that deals with self-doubt and contemplation. All three of his 2020 releases received excellent reviews from the press as well as the audience. Victoria’s Secret in fact continues to rise in popularity a year after its release and this year hit the no. 2 spot on global radio charts.
Well-known in the Indian Indie Circles as the former frontman of the erstwhile Delhi-based Alt-Rock outfit Cyanide, Rohan started exhibiting his musical abilities at a rather early age. In the era of Channel V Launchpad and the Great Indian Rock Concerts, Cyanide was successful in making its presence felt in significant Indie Rock events of the country, in a short time.
Rohan moved to New York a few years ago where he packed in some new skills as an Audio Engineer and was a part of a trio called By Chance. During his time in New York, Rohan also was a part of a Grammy Award winning track called Bubblin by Anderson Paak, in the capacity of an assistant engineer.
Living up to his reputation & annual tradition, Rohan Solomon has just released an intimate, warm and lush Christmas original for the festive season titled “It’s Christmas”.
Bright lights, bonfire, festivities and warmth seep into the listener’s psyche with Solomon’s latest Christmas offering that comes with piano driven core and rich vocal harmonies. “The feeling is ‘celebration’. Every moment of the song is intended to get you in a festive mood.
“It makes me think of Christmassy things like cake, candy, carol singing, family & presents. My friends who’ve heard the track tell me that’s exactly how they feel too,” says the artist, who has been known for putting out Christmas renditions year after year.
Talking about his fondness for Yuletide tunes and his new single Solomon added, “A long time ago, I had a lot of fun putting out a Christmas EP with my old band Cyanide and there were a few originals in that EP. I remember how good that felt, so I decided to put out an original single this year. I’ve been doing Christmas favourites almost every year. But I just felt like I needed to write a new Christmas song that just sounds huge and festive.”
The pop-rock song has a very ‘organic’ vibe to it which Solomon attributes to the usage of percussions such as shakers and tambourine that have been performed live. The track allowed the New York/New Delhi based artist to enjoy a change of pace from his usual fare of guitar-driven songs to a piano-based one with this one.
He adds, “There is a guitar solo in the song though, which I had a lot of fun playing along with lots of vocal harmonies, especially in the chorus, all creating a choir like effect. I had fun with some lyrical references of New York City because I have such great memories of spending Christmas in New York.
Instead of using samples I used a lot more live instruments, just small things like that make the song sound more human and organic.”
Rohan Solomon’s “It’s Christmas” is a song that celebrates an old festival which usually marks new beginnings. It’s deeply rooted in Christmas traditions, but ultimately fresh, outward looking, welcoming and joyful. Rohan Solomon’s intuitive songwriting and musicianship effortlessly transport the listener into the most wonderful time of the year. Spread the cheer, It’s Christmas after all.
Verdict: Festive.
