Ritviz and Nucleya on their much awaited debut album

Nucleya (left) and Ritviz first met in 2015

In 2018, this writer had asked Udyan Sagar aka Nucleya - who by then had already established himself as arguably the biggest name in desi electronic music - to name one promising young Indian producer to watch out for. He'd picked Ritviz. The latter had just started emerging in the scene back then after his smash hit, Udd Gaye, became an anthem from clubs to wedding sangeets. But with time, Ritviz, whose last name is Srivastava, has himself become such a force to reckon with that you can now put him on the same pedestal as Nucleya in terms of popularity, which is why it might be fair to say that Baaraat, Their upcoming collaborative album, is this year's biggest Indian electronic music offering.

But the seeds of the record - which will also be dropped as non-fungible transfers on the WazirX marketplace - were laid in 2015 when the two first met at a music festival. Talking about that initial interaction, Ritviz, 25, tells us that he looked up to Nucleya, 41, like every other kid did. He says, "Our relationship was built then and there, and he has been a constant mentor and friend ever since."

That was also the time when they wrote Sawari together, which will appear on Baaraat. The first song from the album, Sathi, was launched last weekend and the plan is to release one tune every Friday till the whole eight-track record sees the light of day in early October. Ritviz says that both he and Nucleya went out of their comfort zones for this project, meaning he diluted his Hindustani-classical influences while Nucleya held back on his signature desi bass music. This change of direction is evident in Sathi, a synth-based banger that really picks up around the one-minute mark when Nucleya injects it with a set of unexpected beats. Ritviz reveals that the whole album is diverse in nature, saying, "The second song is going to be as much of a surprise as the third one.Every track is a reflection of our mood, but in different settings."

But what's interesting is that despite the age gap and the fact that Nucleya's popularity precedes his, Ritviz sees himself as a musical equal. "I will have that same feeling towards any musician, regardless of career or standing. The fact that he [Nucleya] is going to be a big brother will of course never change. But there's always been a sense of equality between us when it comes to music."

Which, truly, is how it should be, but here comes the surprising part. Ritviz - who hits numbers like 67 million views on YouTube for a single track given his massive fan base - doesn't see himself in the business of making music at all in the future. He tells us, "I see myself more as a creative individual who makes content for self-amusement. And I do see myself moving away from music; there are flashes in my head that tell me I won't be doing this in the future. I could be expressing myself in other ways, maybe in the F&B or fashion industries. I always need something challenging."

That's a pretty startling revelation, but the youngster has kept these plans on the anvil because, in his own words, "I haven't been able to piece them all together yet." Meanwhile, Sathi has already notched up close to 5.5 lakh views on YouTube within just three days. So, it's safe to assume that there are a lot of fans who will feel a sense of loss when Ritviz takes the next step on his journey as a "creative individual", and not as a musician, whenever that will be.