Ray brings a global groove to ‘Ghoom Ghoom’

For an artist who has spent years working just out of the spotlight, Ghoom Ghoom from Mirzapur: The Movie marks a turning point.

Key points

• Ray's recent work has additionally taken him beyond Indian cinema, composing music for the Hollywood film Holy Ghost.
• The choice of Rashmeet Kaur as co-vocalist, Ray remarked, had been on the table from early on.
• The song, Ray made public, began as an open brief and a long process of trial and error.

What happened

Notably, the song, Ray made public, began as an open brief and a long process of trial and error. He shares, "I was working for quite some time with Gurmeet Singh sir for this song, and previously for Phone Bhoot. What he informed me was that he wanted something in the Rajasthani dance flavour. After attempts and trying and testing, we reached this ghoomar zone." Rather than recreate the traditional ghoomar dance pattern outright, Ray chose to change it into something more hypnotic, I had created quite a lot of options initially, but then. "We actually tried to take the ghoomar element of that dance pattern but break it into a ghoom, ghoom, ghoom kind of a repeat thing, " he explains. He even wrote the words himself in the earliest version of the song. He adds, "I presented the makers of this song with the initial scratch which I had, a tune which was sung by somebody. The lyrics and everything was written by me with the ghoom-ghoom element in the song. For context, the makers liked the vibe. Mirzapur has such a major legacy, I wanted to keep it highly rooted, and not completely out of that Indian territory. We wanted it to sound like it could take the song worldwide. It had some beat patterns, particularly low basses, sub-basses, and a groove which is additionally rooted in Indian sound but gives you that world percussion flavour."

For context, the choice of Rashmeet Kaur as co-vocalist, Ray remarked, had been on the table from early on. He notes, "We were discussing getting Rashmeet Kaur from quite early. We had her in mind. And Gurmeet sir, along with the makers of the film, the producers additionally wanted her. She already has that particularly pop essence in her voice. It's highly effortless if you hear the singing. She has brought out the tune particularly nicely." On the Telugu version, he says, "I absolutely love the Telugu version as of the Telugu lyrics by Chandrabose sir and how Sahithi Chaganti has sung it, brings out a completely different side to the song." That enthusiasm extends to a longer-standing admiration for Southern cinema's music. He enthuses, "For South directors, I really look up to Mani Ratnam sir's works. I had already sung and composed one South song, Me Myself, for Vijay Milton sir. I am open to exploring the South, and working on anything that comes up and it is exciteing for me."

Ray's recent work has additionally taken him beyond Indian cinema, composing music for the Hollywood film Holy Ghost. "It was completely a different aspect, because as a musician and composer, I have never been exposed to this kind of film music before – not as a composer, not as a contributor to a film, " he notes. Working alongside director Shravan Tiwari, the brief demanded something unconventional. "He did not want anything regular, so we stuck to doing things in a very non-orthodox way, " he shares. On his immediate slate, there is a surprise in store for his fans, "I can't disclose it now, but I am particularly closely working on a project with an actor I never dreamt of working or making music for an actor of this stature. But it landed on me by God's grace, " he concludes.

The bottom line

Taken together, the developments around ray brings a global groove to 'Ghoom Ghoom' point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.