MUMBAI: Passion is a very passively aggressive emotion residing in the littlest of corners in this world. The best display of this driving emotion isn’t just an artiste going crazy on stage in front of millions, No! That comes after a lot of personal battles having been won. It’s the run before that where truly your drive is put to test.

It’s beautiful how you can find an individual driven towards a cause anywhere even if it’s in freaking ICICI bank. Darshan Lodaya better known as ‘Bluesanova’ spent a lot of his years working as a corporate slave before it was finally too much for his musically driven soul to take. “I asked myself some hard-hitting questions and it’s been five years now that I have been working as a full-time musician,” said the multi-genred artiste.

It’s really interesting how his stage name, his influences and as a matter of fact his ringtone is completely against the kind of music he produces which ranges from trance, chill, trip hop and mostly pertaining to the electric genre. He explains, “My interest have been very varied starting from Jazz, 80’s synthpop, a little bit of rock and progressive but what intrigues me the most is combining genres. Fusion has always been the nucleus of my interests. My favourite song is ‘Bluesanova’ by Tom Brown which is a very interesting fusion of Bossa Nova and Blues hence I thought of using it as my stage name.”

Darshan is known for his infectious guitar riffs and compelling melodies and an unmatched sense of background ambiance. His latest single ‘Woh Roke Hum Ruke Na’ displays his talent as a remarkable producer. With hard-hitting lyrics on the forefront, the rap is backed by some crazy scratches on the turntable that has hints of his progressive background.

In today’s time when songs like ‘Daaru Daaru’ take up the better portion of the electric genre because it influences people, there are artistes like Bluesanova who use it to spread awareness also because it influences people. ‘Woh Roke Hum Ruke Na’ puts across a strong message of women empowerment and not just that it also talks about an individual struggle to stand up for a cause

Darshan believes in combining ideas and that is reflected in his song ‘Woh Roke Hum Ruke Na’ where he has used his art to express the idea of humanity and equality which he firmly believes in. “Certain ideas, certain thoughts need to be stood up for. My ideas and thoughts are very important to me and I wish to inspire through songs like Woh Ruke Hum Roke Na.”

Bluesanova recently collaborated with Manjoor Khan Manganiyar on a very interesting track called ‘Aao Bhanvar Albela’ for his three-song EP named Freedom. The EP is all set to release in the first week of March 2017. Sounds like a boring eastern classical piece but it’s far from that. It’s what he calls an electro folk song. It brings out the rich essence of Rajasthani folk with some strong aalaps over a delightfully haunting ambient background with an electronic, a little bassy, midi-keyboard line that lingers on long after you have put aside your earphones.

Bluesanova has also produced music for Making of The World for all celebrity calendar 2015 supporting adoption of stray dogs. He is currently working with Manav Foundation, an institute for mental illness, on a collaboration to spread awareness regarding the same. “I do not want to be preachy but I believe there are fewer and fewer artistes today who stand up for what they believe in.”

Owing to his versatility, Darshan has produced music for independent films too which include one certain ‘Call Waiting’ by Anubhuti Kashyap. “I want to work with good directors irrespective of the project being a commercial one or an independent one. With a like-minded bunch of people at work, the sky is the limit.” Smiled the ex ICICI employee.