Tera Hua by California-based music producer Janapriyan Levine is making waves. It is an original Hindi music video sung by Vikalp Sharma and animated by Ekabhuya Animation. Janapriyan made this music video in 2020 at the height of the pandemic when most of us were really just staying home.
Somehow it became more than just a breakup song with a performance video. It’s a look at loneliness and how we relate to screens and to ourselves when we are alone.
What happens when the lights go out? Where do these graceful doves come from? There are lovers and memories to mourn, but hidden deep within this song there is a subdued triumph that lingers long after it is over.
It came to me in a flash one night while I was sleeping. I woke by a vision that carried with it the utmost clarity and purpose, like a spiritual mandate from God. When you watch the music video, the room you see is exactly how it appeared in my mind that night, says Janapriyan Levine.
An explorer at the frontier where East meets West, this ambitious producer has branded himself by his fresh and disruptive sound. ‘The song is an anthem of dedication and love to someone who is no longer there. While there is something tragic about that, there are also lighter colors in the music that are simply wearing a sad disguise if you listen closely. I asked Vikalp to sing on this track because the music I was writing was raw and would be a good fit for his free-spirited voice. In many ways, I am a devotee and an explorer of the Indian sound and Vikalp is very much poised in that same way towards rock and roll. I knew he would give us the lyrics and the vocal that the song deserved’, he adds.
Hailing from New York City, living in California, Janapriyan has a long musical history with many popular artists in and out of India. He recorded his first solo album in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 2001. He has since produced original music with Shweta Subram (the voice of Jalebi baby), south India’s Varijashree Venugopal, The Dhoad Gypsies of Rajasthan, Veena maestro Rajesh Vaidya, playback singer Suvarna Tiwari, and many more. Collaborating with some of India’s well-known singers, he is releasing a series of music videos on his youtube channel that feature a different singer with each song.