Jay Sean: For the first time, I’m writing an album, here in India

Jay Sean

Among the select music artistes who truly know how to make collaborative pieces find their way to the top of music charts, Jay Sean says his mantra has been rather simple. "I tell a collaborator, you do you. I will work [around] that. If an artiste is skilled at creating Afro beats, I'm not going to walk in and say, let's do a dance number," he says. Evidently then, his upcoming album, his first in a long time, would interest music aficionados. "It's all collaborations," shares the singer, whose latest release was the Juggy D and Rishi Rich offering, Meri ban ja.

In this interview, he shares how his life has come full circle with this latest endeavour.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

Can you tell us about your new track with Juggy D?
Juggy had sent this to me a while ago and asked me if I would do a verse for it. And I said, of course. When he told me Rishi Rich was the producer, that [sealed the deal]. For fans who [consumed] Dance with you, and Eyes on you, this song is a nod to that era. Rishi, Juggy, and I have chemistry. [When we began our careers], we were young, and excited to make music. We had our whole lives ahead of us, and couldn't believe that we had the opportunity to play [together] in studios and go on tours. I wasn't going alone; I was with two of my best friends. So, even if it's been a while, when we return to the studio, the chemistry is right there.

For Indians who are born and brought up in England, there are some things that are common - you will have your dadima watching Bollywood, your parents making rotis, and you yourself will listen to RnB. All those influences were real, and that's what the three of us brought to the studio. Our music spoke to every Indian kid [who grew up in England]. They said, ‘These guys are putting our life story in a song.'

You've found success in both, your commercial English numbers, and your Hindi fusion songs. Were you ever divided when it came to deciphering which audience you must target?
I don't think about which market my song will target. I just make it. When I made Down, I didn't need an Indian sample on it. That's how I lead my music. You can create some songs with [that mindset, though]. Stolen, for instance, was that. The original version was a ballad, but when Rishi and I heard it, we felt it would sound good with that tune [Churaliya hai tumne]. So, there will be a song for the Indian market, and another which will [cater to] the rest of the globe, and then there will be songs that will do both.

You've spoken about how you lacked a credible voice critiquing your work when you began. What are the benchmarks you set for yourself that set you up for success in the absence of that?
I complete 20 years of writing and performing music in 2024. It has been a beautiful journey! Sounds change, and the climate changes. But, I am the most excited I've been in a long time, right now. I'll tell you why. When I started making music 20 years ago, some of the producers I'm working with now, weren't even born. I worked with a guy who is 20 years old. When I started working, it was [all about] watching Bollywood, consuming RnB, and fusing [the genres]. For young producers, that is happening right now. A 20-year-old kid has consumed [songs by] Travis Scott, and Drake, and also listens to bhangra and Bollywood. So, what they are making in the studio is what I encountered 20 years ago. And that's what my new album is about.

Is that what brings you here?
I am doing something I've never done before. I am writing an album here, in India. It's my first album release in a few years, and will have an east meets west [vibe]. It will have me singing in Punjabi over an RnB track, or will include an Indian production with me singing in English. So, it is fusion. It is an album of collaborations. Each song will have a different artiste, some of them are household names, others are upcoming [musicians]. [One among them] is Ali Sethi; we have been wanting to work with each other. It took me an hour to write the song because it flowed so well.