Decades-old project gets contemporary twist

Phatak, Kher and Ghanekar’s track is a revisited version of the number that released over a decade ago

Firsts are always special, as Dhruv Ghanekar would attest to. Having collaborated with composer Ashutosh Phatak for the album Smoke Signals several years ago, Ghanekar was eager to resurrect the project at the behest of his fans. "The song Summertime rocks will be the first release of my record label, Wah Wah Records. Because it was our first release [for a live music company] that has now shut down, it's obviously dear to us. It is also a representation of that time in our lives when we were just starting out; a time when we could do anything and get away with it. It has a great spirit and innocence," says the musician who joins hands with Kailash Kher again for this release.

Ghanekar, who has previously composed music for Kangana Ranaut's Dhaakad, says the decades-old number's timeless quality makes it suited for release in this era as well. "The number is so contemporary that it doesn't seem like it was made a while ago. I had no apprehensions about releasing it again."

On his plate, as part of his record label, is a mammoth musical that begins next month. "The fundamental reason behind launching this label was to create a means through which I could release the projects I have been working on. The Broadway musical will tour Japan, and is a complete Bollywood-style show with nine songs and background pieces. Then, there's another legacy project called White Noise. Finally, I also plan to release my own music and do collaborative projects with other artistes."

Composing for a musical, Ghanekar admits, is as challenging as doing so for any cinematic offering. "For a musical, one needs to compose even if visuals don't exist, because that is the nature of the platform.

Since the show is set in India, it has Indian influences. I [have deviated] from using elements that already exist. It has [a gamut of styles] including Kathak, for which we needed to appropriately design music."