By Ranjini Achuthan
The singer-songwriter mesmerizes with torch singing in the moving ode to love lost.
Towards the end of Fading colours by Mahesh Raghunandan, the ace vocalizer mouths ‘pictures’ in a way you would have never heard anyone sing before. The song is replete with such moments of despair, longing and disquieting quietude. Mahesh is in top-notch form delivering a sentimental, lilting melody in his signature airy, falsetto voice that is so rich in emotional quotient, that your heart melts and your eyes close in reverie.
In terms of arrangement, Fading Colours is as acoustic as it can get; guitars stay till the end whereas strings and piano make unexpected special appearances that adds to the poignancy in the most subtle of ways.
The song talks about losing a loved one while being far away from home. “It’s been a crazy year with so many lives lost. And it doesn’t make it any easier when you’re not able to be with them in passing. This song goes out to those tough souls and in memory of their loved ones.” says Mahesh.
The song is a far cry from his usual process of live recordings in a studio. It is an out and out lockdown home project with everything being recorded at home including the vocals and guitars whereas strings and piano have been programmed by Mahesh himself. “Difficult problems call for creative solutions”, quips Mahesh.
Photo credit: Sabareesh Arumugam
The lyrical video to the track is a melancholic train of thoughts, no pun intended, where a lonely man in a moving coach is seen gazing at a picture whose colours have started fading. A symbol of loss, tragedy and grief. The beautiful anime video and ‘the dancing lady’ artwork has been done by the brilliant graphic illustrator Harshita Bandodkar from Bangalore.
Mahesh reveals that, this is the beginning of more singles to come before his third album named ‘Change’ drops sometime next year. Fading Colours is now out on all streaming platforms.