(March 14, 2024) His affair with music started when he was merely a kid, and he hated it. While Rehan Dalal loved playing the keyboard and listening to jazz and rock music even back then, he felt restricted in music classes and stopped attending them soon. Today, a musician based out of Toronto, Canada, Rehan is on an exciting journey to make music that he finds solace in. His songs, such as That Old Fashioned Feeling, Caramel on Porcelain, and Walk With Me, have been received very well by listeners on various audio platforms, including iTunes, Rdio, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, and Ok Listen. “Ironically, today I am a big proponent of learning music,” laughs the 33-year-old musician, during an interview with Global Indian.
The musician, who moved from Mumbai to Canada in 2005 to pursue a degree in computer eventually picked up a guitar and began writing songs. “I was always in music, but I started making music only after coming to Canada. During my University days, I used to spend a lot of time alone in my dorm room, and that’s when I started writing some songs. Frankly, it was a hobby for me. However, my teachers and friends were quite encouraging and I started writing more. I even started performing at the local open mics, and that really helped my music,” adds the musician has done several national and international stage performances, including gigs at NH7 Weekender (Bengaluru, Delhi, and Pune).
A born musician
Born in Mumbai, the musician was very young when he discovered he really loved the sound of a keyboard. “My father was a great admirer of jazz, hip hop, and R&B music – which is also referred to as Black American music. And I grew up listening to that. My grandfather, I remember, listened to a lot of Hindustani classical music. But back then I didn’t appreciate it. That is something I still regret,” shares the musician. While he absolutely didn’t like the idea of sitting in a class for an hour and learning the nuances of music, he still loved playing the keyboard, “Which at that point of time I didn’t know how to play very well,” Rehan adds. Eventually, Rehan’s aunt gifted him a guitar, which he learned to play.
Interestingly, Rehan loved computer coding as much as he loved music, and that pushed him to move to Waterloo, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. “Actually, when I first came here it was to study Economics. I found the subject quite boring, so I shifted to computer science, as I had been coding since I was nine years old. However, I already knew most of what was being taught in the college. And so, I quit college in my second year,” the musician shares. It was around the same time that he had started writing and performing at small gigs in Waterloo. “I received a lot of appreciation from my audience, and decided to move to Toronto in 2007, as most musicians in Canada lived there,” he adds.
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Finding his tune
Though his passion for music had brought him to Toronto, it didn’t take much time for Rehan to realise that the road he had chosen was full of challenges. While he had several amazing ideas for a song, he found it difficult to communicate his thoughts to other musicians. “I had many ideas, but I lacked skills. I knew how the song would sound and which note would go where, but all this was in my head. I didn’t know how to translate these sounds into words and present them to other musicians who could help me develop a song,” shares the musician, adding, “I think this was the point that I understood how formal education in music would have helped me.” However, as the saying goes ‘where there is a will there’s a way’, Rehan soon learned the required skills and started working with various big names.
One of his biggest breakthroughs was when his song Walk With Me, from the 2013 album Got To Feel It, scored a top-10 radio hit in India. “I truly feel blessed that I was able to work with those musicians, whom I was a fan of. Got To Feel It was my first debut record, which was produced by Justin Abedin, who goes by the stage name Jacksoul and is a huge name in the Canadian music scene.” says the musician who has shared the stage with the likes of Mark Ronson, Flying Lotus, and Divine Brown. “One of my most memorable performances was opening for David Ryan Harris. He was so generous to me. I met a number of musicians during that time, whom I grew up listening to. It was surreal,” Rehan adds, who was spotlighted as a featured musician at the 28th Toronto International Jazz Festival.
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Facing the music
Art seldom pays bills. Like many budding musicians trying to carve a niche for themselves, Rehan has a job that helps him pay his bills. However, unlike several others, this musician loves what he does. “I am a software engineer with a firm. I didn’t complete my degree, but I had the knowledge and they hired me. I have many hobbies which I feel can be a viable source of income as well. I love to design logos and websites. Nowadays, I am also into furniture designing,” shares the musician, who wishes to retire at 45.
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Rehan, shares that his latest album, Fruit of a Poison Tree, is his most ambitious effort yet shares that his music draws from his love of neo-soul and jazz. “My music is inspired by a lot of things, including the emotions I feel and what is happening around me. I am still learning, as I believe that is one process that should never stop,” shares the musician, who is looking to collaborate with an Indian musician in his next project.
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