The artiste behind ‘Udd Gaye’: Ritviz’s rise to fame

Ritviz, the indie music maverick, need not be in scripted into the achievements he gained over the years, but what we know from his music, he is too personal like his songs are.

The singer has always been on the charts since the release of his first song "Udd Gaye" in 2017. However, the indie artist got internationally acclaimed and known when three of his songs made it to Disney+'s Ms. Marvel, an American television miniseries based on supremely popular Marvel comics. Ritviz has six EP (extended play) albums to his name, including "Yuv," "Ved," "Dev," "Baaraat," and "Mimmi."

Ritviz Srivastava, who goes by the stage name 'Ritviz', has been making music from a very young age, and since he was just eight years old, he has been performing at venues across the globe. At present, Ritviz has become a common name among youngsters and an iconic artist with his modern style and classical tonality. However, this fame does not make him any better or worse, as he makes music independently and follows his own pace and creative explorations.

With his breakthrough song, "Udd Gaye" released in 2017, the singer produced hit bangers like "Sage," "Liggi," "Barso," "Jeet," and not to mention his most personal and soul-reflecting album "Mimmi" which he co-wrote with his talented mother.

Born and raised into a musical family, Ritviz, a family person himself, goes back to his roots, nostalgia and commence or pick out conversation from his childhood, mostly with his classically attuned mother, with whom he co-wrote several of his songs and one of his albums. The pop artist is from Darbhanga, Bihar, India.

He devoted "Mimmi" to his mother, who he adorably calls by the same name, and all the mothers out there. This album is the most personal piece of work of Ritviz, encapsulating the parallels between his young and adult self, inscribing the vulnerability and strength of growing in a household full of love and challenges of growing up in a world he did not know.

He makes music for prolific listeners, who want to relish and devour the essence and magic of music, he says in an interview. To the musician, being on charts or current trends is never the goal or the destination of his creative genius or artistic abilities. Admirers can find this ease, honesty, and tenacity in the melodies he created in "Khamoshi," "Jeet," "Barso," "Aaj Na," and "Mehfooz".

Ritviz incorporates the quirks of Indian Classical music with pop electronic elements. Along with electronic equipment, he often uses tabla or 'murkiyas', and in his vocal style, there are layers of bandish-style compositions that can be easily denoted from his songs, like "Barso". Ritviz's mother is a classical vocalist, and his father is a tabla player, and that pretty much explains his inclination toward Indian classical music.

The singer is academically learned in "khayaal gayaki", "Dhrupad-Dhamaar", and listeners can easily get a sense of classical music, from pop to hip-hop, all through his compositions. He always tries to create a conduit and confluence of these musical genres in his compositions, which is perhaps why his admirers are drawn to his music. In his words, he says, he makes 'subconsciously organic' compositions, creating bridges between the past and present.

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Indian singer Ritviz coming to Dhaka

Bangladeshi audiences will soon get to witness his musical concoctions as the artiste is due to perform in Dhaka on July 27.