Therapy on song

The musician with a guitar from his collection. Pics/Anurag Ahire

The walls of Vernon Noronha's apartment in Andheri are a sombre shade, and his guitars are meticulously placed across the space, as if there is always a song that is waiting to be created. Noronha's approach to music is very similar to his approach to life - simple and minimal. There are no rushes but a gentle ebb and flow that emerges through his realistic lyricism. "In many ways, this album was my therapy. I don't like to speak much about myself but I felt at that point in life, it was the only thing I had to share. That was where my mind was, and the songs echo the feelings shared by plenty during the course of the pandemic" he explains, while speaking about his songwriting process.

"The thematic concerns for this album were simply laying bare my true feelings about my state of mind. The pandemic raging on; no gigs to play at; less people to interact with, and the mind wanders," the 32-year-old musician adds.

Vernon Noronha works on his upcoming releases

Lyrical process

A sense of vulnerability and self-doubt echo throughout the lyrics of Who Am I Writing These Songs For? It charters an artiste's life that reaches a point of frustration over their work. "I had done many shows where I played cover songs and I had pretty much burned out my stock of it; the song emerged from that angst where I wanted to make it clear about where I stand in life and in my art," he elaborates.

The relatability factor that is his trademark translates across in this EP, and is most evident in Peak of sunshine where he speaks of the struggles faced by an artiste. The song explores the idea of people in a race and how the world moves on while he stays behind to take a moment to soak in the sights around him. "While in school and college, I used to sing a lot. The idea of writing songs came somewhere around the time. I remember being deeply influenced by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong's songwriting, and later found Nikhil D'Souza doing some brilliant work. It's when I realised that this is exactly what I want to do," he reveals. The influences of Jason Mraz's "way of life", as Noronha likes to call it, caught his eager senses and can be evidenced in the way he approaches music.

Future calling

Noronha is aware that he is a niche artiste, and there's been a long hiatus since his previous album: "I have a lot of new material coming. I like to take my time with what I am doing but it won't be as long as this one. My last album Closer to Home came way back in 2016 and since then, I have grown a lot and my music has seen a fair share of change. At the core, every musician has a sound and that is theirs to find. I think I have found mine and this is who I am." Along with a string of singles coming up in the near future, he is excited about an album that his off-beat band The Vindaloos is working on.

Log on to: Spotify/Apple Music