Frizzell D’Souza
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“Ain’t nothing like the real thing…” crooned Marvin Gaye and if he was here today he would sing the same tune — a tune that has listeners to Frizzell D’Souza humming the same.
“Everywhere I went, people would say, ‘It was nice to see you outside of Instagram Live’. Their resounding response has been incredibly reassuring and I am grateful to fans for their support,” says the Bengaluru-based artiste still ecstatic over the positive feedback to her first tour.
The tour which saw her perform in Mumbai, Delhi, Goa and Indore from the mid to the end of July, was a prelude to the release of, ‘New – Acoustic’, a reimagined version of her debut single, ‘New’, on her return to Bengaluru. It also marked many a milestone for the young artiste.
“The entire tour and release was centred around having been on the scene for about three years now; it also marks one year to my graduation from college, as well as the smaller things that have happened since. A tour seemed to be the next step ahead to celebrate the time I’ve spent as a musician.”
Also read: Frizzell D’Souza’s début single is as new as freshly brewed coffee
“Besides, for the longest time I’ve been trying to go to other cities to meet with fans instead of just on my Instagram Live,” Frizzell says.
Frizzell D’Souza’s acoustic version of ‘New’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
So, what sets apart the reimagined version of this song from her debut? “I’ve been wanting to revisit ‘New’ because I feel like I’ve evolved a bit more as a songwriter. At the time it came out, I was just playing around with the idea of releasing a song and I hadn’t paid much attention to its songwriting and production elements,” Frizzell confesses.
She admits it is unrealistic to expect initial releases to reflect “one’s sound as an artist”. “That is the reason I wanted to go back and release a version that was more visual. Also, the idea of adding an extra verse kept coming back to me — I felt like there was so much more that could have been done with the song in terms of conveying its idea and the story behind it.”
The original had an electric guitar solo, which has been replaced with a bridge in the recently released acoustic version. “I’ve learned what more you can do with a song instead of the usual verse-chorus structure; the original didn’t have a bridge that would take you to a whole other place and I wanted to explore it a little bit. The piano adds an intricate, delicate sound to it being an acoustic version.”
‘New – Acoustic’ features Derek Mathias on piano and was mixed and mastered by Varun Murali at The Red Music Box Studio, in Bengaluru. “I met Derek at a show in the city; he and his band heard me perform and thought we could collaborate on some work,” says Frizzell, who adds the original version of ‘New’ is still on her YouTube channel as well as other streaming platforms.
Frizzell, who graduated from the RV College of Architecture in Bengaluru says she is fortunate to be a full-time musician. “I was supposed to take up a job in January this year after my EP was completed. But, the thought of sitting in an office and declining gigs broke my heart, so that settled it for me.”