A song of the heart: Zaeden’s new single stitches together melody, storytelling and romance

Hanita Bhambri (left) and Zaeden in a moment from the music video

Musical inspiration can strike in many ways, but the thread of relationships and ideal romance runs through the best compositions. From Puccini to Himesh Reshammiya, there is a thread of human connection that runs through the history of music. The latest in that long thread is Zaeden's single KTMBK (Kahoon toh mein bhi kya) ft Hanita Bhambri.

Composed by Zaeden, the song was released as part of the series, Mismatched 2 featuring Rohit Saraf and Prajakta Koli last week. The track remains just as mellow and romantic with the added presence of singer Hanita Bhambri to accompany him on the track.

"I had created the song around the same time I wrote my debut project, Tere bina that was released in 2019," the singer informs us, adding that the lyrics and its story are dedicated to his grandparents. The delay between the song's conception and release is down to the search for the right voice, the singer explains. "I felt something is missing as I was looking for a female voice that fits into the song and all my efforts were futile until I got in touch with Hanita,"
he describes.

The melodic composition stands out for its lo-fi style with an emphasis on the soft vocals of both artistes. Zaeden and Bhambri do well on the lyrics and match the slow, waltz-ish tempo of the track. For a romantic song, it has an element of lightness that is present throughout its simple rhythmic structure. It was a purposeful choice, the singer explains adding, "I'm always open to experimenting with new styles and sounds. For KTMBK in particular, I felt the song demanded a very minimalist production, and we realised it's best to let the melody along with the lyrics shine and carry the song just the way they are."

While his name means ‘out of the box thinking' in Latin, the singer reflected that his process of composition has remained vastly unchanged over the years. "I start off with the hook melody of the song and record it on my phone's voice memos. Over time, I start to build the song structure and its production with my collaborators along with writing the lyrics," he notes.

Despite an online following, the singer admits that the presence of the song in Mismatched 2 is welcoming. He reveals, "Seeing the song come to life with Mismatched yet again is such a special moment for me."

For now though, the singer is busy pursuing new ideas. "There are a bunch of songs in the pipeline that I've been working on and hoarding until the right moment to drop them comes," he concludes.

Log on to KTMBK on
Spotify, YouTube