Rihanna is a trendsetter: Mangal Suvarnan

Rihanna is a trendsetter: Mangal Suvarnan

Indian artists collaborating with international artists is becoming a common trend, and the latest to join the list is electronic and acoustic music producer, DJ, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Mangal Suvarnan. He has done the official remix for Barbadian songstress Rihanna’s hit single Consideration from her latest album Anti. 

The recently-released track titled Consideration Rihanna ft SZA (Mangal Suvarnan Remix) received rave reviews and garnered over 65,000 plays in three days on music streaming service Spotify. The song was released on Westbury Road Entertainment LLC and will be distributed by Roc Nation Records, an entertainment company founded by popular musician JAY-Z. The song is available across various platforms. 

Congratulate Mangal on the remix and he says, “I think it’s insane and awesome. But at the end of the day, be it me or any other artist, the music has to do all the talking. I am very fortunate with the opportunity and I pretty much smashed it. I mean opportunities don’t come by but I have worked hard for it. I did my best and everything worked out.” 

Explaining the process of working on the track, the Dubai-based artist says, “I was at the Amsterdam Dance Event and while attending it, my manager and I met a lot of people from within the industry. My manager Eric van der Kwast literally dropped the entire Rihanna track to me through WhatsApp and asked me to give it a shot. I worked on a couple of ideas.” 

He says that his manager had sent the track to Westbury Road Entertainment and Desk Jam. “By next day, I was informed that they had liked the track and sent it with suggested changes, if needed. In fact, I was told by my manager that they would be suggesting a lot of changes but that wasn’t the case. The next day, I sent them back the track and we were just waiting for Rihanna and her management to give a green signal which came soon,” he adds. 

But did he keep Rihanna’s style in tact while recreating the track and he replies, “Definitely. I had got the stems, by stems I mean I had the raw recordings/ files of Rihanna. I did not touch her work and let it stay the way it was but recreated everything around it. Originally, Consideration was serious and dark but very empowering too. The track is like, ‘Why would you never let me grow’. Consideration is also an intelligent song. But I gave a happy and happening spin to it, and a much nicer vibe. I have used Indian flute in the track.”

Creating such a diverse style must have been challenging. “It was and that’s what I do with my remixes,” says Mangal adding, “When I get an original track, I like to go as far as possible from the original track and try to make it 100 per cent my own sound, if it permits. While working on it, I use flutes, which I play myself, and acoustic guitar. It’s not an easy task but I have been working for so long that I have a hang of it,” says the artist who has worked on tracks like Winds of Destiny, Maor Levi ft Mangal Suvarnan — Made of Fire, Anjunabeats (UK), Laidback Luke & Mangal Suvarnan — Don’t Hesitate (Original Mix) in the album Focus, Mangal Suvarnan ft Dhanusha Gokul --- Long Way from Home (Incld Remix from Universal Religion) and others. 

Mangal says that he connects with Rihanna over the fact that they both like to stick to their roots. “She is one of those few artists who really don’t care about what’s happening or what’s in trend. In fact, she is a trendsetter herself and has her own style. She is a Barbadian and sticks to her roots. I like to do the same because I am from Kerala myself and try to get influences from that region in my music but Rihanna does it in a more stronger manner. She innovates a lot,” he says. 

Talking about his future projects, he says, “I am working on another remix for Hungarian artist Myon and also working on an Indian movie Who (a film based in Kerala) and another collaboration with an Israeli artist for Armada Music.” 

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