'O Raahi' by Zehen: an Indie-pop Ballad with An Empowering and Moving Message (Interview)

‘O Raahi’ by Zehen is an Indian indie pop ballad that holds a wistful message within its guitar and violin-led soundscape. It’s a bilingual song about coming-of-age and making peace with the uncertainty of adulthood.

Guitars, strings and the track’s tightly woven percussion pull the song’s soundscape together while its empowering, reflective lyrics set the tone. The lines seem to hold a lightness and a sense of optimism, taking on a mood that simultaneously reminisces for much simpler times while coming to grips with a moving sense of uncertainty.

The lyrics seem to hold a sense of surrender. This is captured in the song’s main refrain:

“…O raahi, le chal mujhko

Raahon mein hi jee lungi

Manzil mein kya rakkha hai?…”

Rough Translation:

“…O traveler, take me away

(I’ll) Live on these paths,

What could the destination have in store?…”

‘O Raahi’ holds in its lines a sense of carefree surrender, urging its subject (here, this singer’s lost inner child) to let go of their worries. They also seem to be infused with the sentiment empowerment and freedom, standing up for the inner child that’s been lost to waves of uncertainty.

“…For the first ever time in my life

I know what it’s like to be free

For the first ever time in my life

I speak for the lost child in me…”

The wistful, sad yet hopeful mood of the song’s violin solo captures this essence. The soundscape and lyrics highlight and reinforce this reflective self-dialogue, allowing the listener to stay engaged with the song’s swelling positivity.

In its moving dulcet tones, ‘O Raahi’ by Zehen holds a message of calm amidst uncertainty. It’s soundscape grounds while expanding into a swell that’s as empowering as it is wistful and melancholic. These moods make for a compelling listen.

You’ll find my correspondence with the band below where they tell us a bit more about ‘O Raahi’, their inspiration for the song and music video and more:

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About ‘O Raahi’

1. Congratulations on the release of ‘O Raahi’, it’s a beautiful song. How does it feel now that the song is out there?

ASHLEY: Thank you so much! We are feeling so many emotions at once – we’re joyful to share our song with the world, proud of what we’ve pulled off, and grateful for all the love that O Raahi is getting from people all over the world. This song has brought us closer to a wider community of people around the world who can relate to the lyrics based on their own personal experiences. It’s wonderful.

TANUSHREE: People have been sharing stories and reels of their own travels (geographical and emotional) – and we’re here for it! The lyrics come from a really personal space and while I was nervous at first about being so vulnerable in front of others – I’m so glad we released this. I have learnt that vulnerability when shared makes us all stronger!

2. Why did this message feel particularly relevant for you to share at this point in your musical journey?

TANUSHREE: When we were younger we thought that grownups had it all figured out. Now we’re the grownups and we’ve come to understand that pretty much everyone is just learning as they go along, one day at a time. And that’s OKAY. The world we live in today is not an easy one to navigate and it’s so important for us to be calm, confident, and self-assured. To that end we say, today is always the best day to start having the right conversations with your inner child. And that’s why, it just made sense for O Raahi to be our first original release as a band.

A “Labour of Love”

3. You’ve described making this song as a “labour of love”. Could you tell us a bit about the process of making it?

TANUSHREE: Well, this song release has been a long time coming. I wrote the initial lines in 2018, not thinking it would end up being a song (I was just writing about how I was feeling in my journal). A few months later, I shared it with Ashley and we talked about the lived experiences behind the lyrics. He went on to arrange the song on his acoustic guitar after which we took it to the rest of the band.

ASHLEY: Every member added their own bits of sparkle to it and we started performing it in front of live audiences in 2019. While we had planned to release it in 2020, the pandemic set us back by a lot. When the world started coming back to normal, we still weren’t ‘perfectly happy’ with the song and it kept evolving over several gigs and jam sessions across several months. And here we are, finally happy with it and releasing the song in 2024!

4. Every musical element plays a key role in delivering the song’s message. Could you walk us through how you pieced these elements together?

ASHLEY: Tanu and I are not just musicians who’ve started a band together – we’re friends. And we genuinely care about each other. When she comes to me with lyrics, I like to understand all that she’s experienced and subsequently processed, for her to have summed up so much emotion in just a few lines. In the case of O Raahi, I instantly knew what kind of vibe this song needed. We kept it fresh, clean, and direct because we wanted the emotion of the lyrics to carry the song through.

TANUSHREE: You know how listeners remember completely unique and personal experiences when listening to a song? It’s the same with musicians who are creating one. When Ashley and I brought the song to the rest of the band, they added elements as per their own interpretation of the vibe of O Raahi. And it’s a collaborative process. For example, Krishnaraj had created a beautiful violin solo that was ‘sad but hopeful’. I told him that I would feel even better if the solo were ‘joyful in spite of the difficulties that surround us’. It’s a subtle difference and not much of a brief to go on but he played a new solo (the one that’s in the song) in just one try. And it felt just right. Making this song has evoked such wonder and bliss – in fact, I still burst into tears whenever I hear James’ guitar solo. I still can’t get over it!

Musically, each element has been placed with careful intent. With the steady foundation of drums and bass by Rahul and Ashley respectively, the violin melody conveys hope despite all odds, the guitar solo celebrates self-discovery, and the bridge – with its whimsical piano and percussive elements by Denvin and Ramkumar – reminds you that courage was all you ever needed. Shambhavi’s vocal harmonies are the final touch to this expression of the band’s collective narrative.

About the Music Video

5. If you could go back in time and talk to your younger selves, what would you say to them?

ASHLEY: Pretty much the same self-talk we do day in and day out even today: keep grinding, stay in your lane, and chin up! We just continued to believe in ourselves even on our worst days and that’s what kept us pushing ourselves beyond the music and the mindsets. We’ve seen many tumbles but they sure didn’t shake us because our Vision was bigger than the Mission.

TANUSHREE: I would tell my younger self to relax. It really does get better. Give yourself some grace – you’re wonderful the way you are. Have more faith in yourself. You’re better than you know, child.

6. Do you see your younger selves as a driving force or a source of inspiration for you now?

ASHLEY: The younger self was and is always experimenting. And that’s the reason the song kept evolving over such a long period of time. Especially with the band going through several seasons with several musicians. It’s the fallbacks that actually were the true set up for what was to come. We all just grew with time and our older self now is still inspiring us to push all boundaries.

TANUSHREE: My younger self would be surprised, nay, shocked to learn that I ended up being a professional musician. It was a dream of hers, sure, but more like when you also dream about growing wings some day and flying in the sky. Today, I want to do everything my younger self dreamed about but was too scared to wish for.

7. What inspired the music video’s anime-style concept?

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TANUSHREE: O Raahi is layered with nuance about traveling – but emotionally. And that kind of abstract storytelling is easier to portray in an anime-style format. We’re really glad we took the animated music video route. We know that usually, for first time releases, it’s the norm to feature band members in the music video. But we thought we’d take a chance and try something different. Something that could capture the true essence of O Raahi – its lyrics and all the other elements that we have placed with such love and care. Oh, and I’m a huge anime fan. So I’m guessing that played a role in the decision making process as well.

Watch the music video for ‘O Raahi’ here:

Zehen’s Start and Approach to Songwriting

8. Could you tell us a bit about your start as a band in your own words?

Chalk it to destiny if you will, but the story of Zehen is a pursuit of adventure, chance encounters, and the defiance of societal norms. It all began when two strangers, who were carving their own paths, met and connected over a shared love for music. There was no good reason for their paths to cross. In fact, Ashley and Tanushree were living completely different lives with unique aspirations and dreams.

ASHLEY: A series of coincidences led to our introduction via text by a mutual friend. We were keen to connect in person but Tanushree’s restrictive office schedules kept getting in the way. One evening, with some sneaking out of office on Tanushree’s part and infinite patience on mine, we finally met and jammed – the connection was instant.

TANUSHREE: Our musical inspirations had barely overlapped until now, yet together, our music made complete sense. Drawing from our favorite influences, over the next few months, we worked on unique cover mashups and renditions across genres. As we delved deeper into our musical endeavors, we nurtured newer connections with talented musicians who added their own unique flair to the Zehen experience.

9. How have your experiences as a band informed your songwriting?

TANUSHREE: I think it’s more like each one of us is playing to our strengths. I bring lyrics that speak of my own personal experiences and Ashley translates that into a musical arrangement. As a band we elevate that from a vocal driven song to a piece where each instruments tells the same story but in its own language. I know this sounds a little abstract but this is how I would describe the process.

10. Is there anything you would like to share? Especially for artists and bands like yourself.

ASHLEY: So we all come from different schools of thought and musicality and it’s a great mix of styles ranging from classic rockers to pure Indian classical rhythms. It’s this diverse blend that brings out our unique Zehen sound. So blame it on the music if you will but keep experimenting and stepping out of your comfort zone. There is a very special sense of fulfillment on the other side!

TANUSHREE: It’s not easy. There is so much hard work that goes into running a band on the daily. But find the right bunch of people and you’ll feel motivated every single day. The right people will be the best travelers or ‘raahis’ who will nourish your soul and help you evolve to levels you’d never imagined possible. So, do what you love with people that you love and you can’t go wrong!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions!

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Listen to O’Raahi’ here: