Sonu Nigam: I didn’t know who Avicii was

Sonu Nigam and Avicii’s debut collaboration, Indian levels has been generating a lot of interest lately — probably since it’s the only song produced from a partnership between an international DJ and a Bollywood playback singer...

Sonu Nigam and Avicii’s debut collaboration, Indian levels has been generating a lot of interest lately — probably since it’s the only song produced from a partnership between an international DJ and a Bollywood playback singer.

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“The song’s been doing well. I’m happy that people are discussing it and tweeting about it,” says Sonu, adding, “Working with Avicii was fantastic; he is a sweet and talented guy. But he doesn’t like to feature in his videos.” The single, which is out on Universal Music, features Sonu’s vocals on Avicii’s past hit Levels.

Sonu, who has delivered several Bollywood hits in the past decade and a half, however, admits that he wasn’t aware of Avicii’s fame in the EDM circuit when he was approached for this project. “I didn’t know who Avicii was. With so much happening around me, it is difficult to keep track of so many things. I was surprised to see his popularity among the younger generation,” he says.

He is also looking forward to the release of another single and its video in the next few days. “It’s nothing like what I’ve done before. The single will surely set a new benchmark,” says Sonu.

Meanwhile, Sonu is also composing music for two films — Jal and Sooper Se Ooper — which will release next year. “I am working on these projects as a composer with (tabla player) Bickram Ghosh and looking forward to the music release.”

Has he sung for the films? “No. I feel a composer should just be that and not hungry for songs. If Naushad and Shankar-Jaikishan sang their own compositions, then we wouldn’t have got singers like Lataji and others of their league. There are a lot of new voices that you will hear in this project,” he says.