‘Angrezi Beat’ and ‘Brown Rang’ changed the scene overnight: Maninder Buttar

Maninder Buttar is a name that is synonym with some of the chart topping songs of the recent times. With his latest song ‘Soda Water’, he has collaborated with Ammy Virk and Baghdadi with Anjali Arora featuring in the video song. Fusing folk with hip-hop, ‘Soda Water’ is what will get your party going! We had a chat with him recently, here are the excerpt:

How did the song ‘Soda Water’ and the collaboration with Ammy Virk happen?

‘Mainu Soda Water Laide Ve’ comes from a Pakistani folk composition. Using this line, I made my part and sent it to Ammy. He made it listen to about 8-10 people who kept praising the song. Ammy called up and said we should plan this together. Baghdadi came on board to write Ammy’s part and all three of us created this song.

How has been the collaboration with Believe ASD?

It was actually Believe that encouraged this collaboration. I had collaborated previously with Ammy on ‘Tod Da E Dil’ as a writer but we hadn’t sung together before. We have been good friends over years but somehow a song with both of us as vocalists could never happen. Believe supported in this collaboration and everything fell in place.

Watch ‘Soda Water’ here:

Are you going to work independently going ahead?

I and the artists who I work with are focusing on building our own channels. We feel that it is a more sustainable way of working forward. We have given hits previously with labels and now we look to replicate the same with our own channels too. It is time to consolidate the audience to your own channel now. There is a lot of freedom to drop your songs at any point you would want to, as an independent artist. YouTube has been pushing creator ecosystem for a long time now. The followers that I have right now is due to the visibility that YouTube had been giving me for a long time.

How is it working as an independent artist?

Believe ASD is actually very instrumental in shaping the artist journey. There is a dedicated team from them that works together with me from planning to execution. For me, it’s the same as if I was working with a label, but with more artistic freedom for myself.

How is ‘Soda Water’ unique from your perspective as an artist?

I have tried to create a different composition with ‘Soda Water’. I have always been a folk driven artist. ‘Soda Water’ also has folk element to it, but it is only about a part of the song. There is a larger hip-hop element to the song which I have tried for the first time. Going ahead, after ‘Soda Water’, I will keep experimenting with the sound. Having said that, Folk will remain an integral part of my work.

How have you seen Punjabi music evolving in your times?

Punjabi music has been evolving continuously. We had reggaeton in Punjabi music even in the 70’s-80’s when there was no sign of it in the movie industry. If I talk about myself, I have gained compositions and melodies from the artists before me. Back in days, artists were at the backend and models used to act in front of the camera. It was after Honey Paaji that the Punjabi music started becoming more popular globally and in India. ‘Angrezi Beat’ and ‘Brown Rang’ changed the scene overnight and we started getting shows! I feel lucky that many factors contributed to us getting more visibility. We, including me, were beneficiaries of these changes. We added our own style to the songs and gave it our own imagery.

Watch ‘Sakhiyaan’ here:

Which one artist has influenced you the most?

I follow quite a few artists, Amrinder Gill Paaji being the one who I have listened the most. He has a big influence on me.

What are your next projects?

I will be releasing one song in the beginning of May. I look to release about 12-15 songs in another 12 months. It is the time when artist needs to drop songs as and when ready. I had stopped myself from releasing many songs earlier and that’s a mistake I would not want to repeat anymore. I have a good song bank that is waiting for taking shape now.

Which artists could be your dream collabs?

Honey Paaji is one collab that I will love to do. Apart from this, a Punjabi song with A R Rahman Sir will be another dream come true.

Well, as they say, dreams do come true and we will wait for the dream collabls to come true too! Till then check out ‘Soda Water’ and keep the party going.