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Music composer Salim Merchant, who is mentoring new talent for an international music competition, says self-expression and originality are the most important elements for an artiste.
“One of the very important factors in an artist is self-expression. That creates self identity,” Salim of the popular Salim-Suleiman duo, told IANS in an interview.
“These days, a lot of singers are sounding like Arijit Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan or someone else, but not something original. Now, as a music composer, if I can work with some of the icons, why should I work with these kids who do not have their own identity and, not bringing anything new on the table?”
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So, he says the first and foremost thing that all the singers should understand is to build their identity.
“As an artiste, it is your inner journey to discover that. If you can do that, the chance is huge to make a difference.
“That apart, I think if the artiste has the time and inclination, they should try to create versatility in their performance. You might be great in one genre, try out the other one to find out the versatility in you,” said the composer, who is also popular as a vocalist.
Salim, along with his brother Suleiman, has worked with many new playback singers in the Bollywood music industry, including Shruti Pathak, Neha Bhasin and Jonita Gandhi.
He said even when they cast a voice, they look for “originality, versatility and a voice that has an individual personality.”
Emphasising on the importance of developing a good ear for music, Salim said: “Music is 50 per cent learning, 50 per cent listening. Unless you are listening to good music, you cannot become a good musician; whether a vocalist, instrumentalist.