Being a biker, Dwayne noticed that motorists didn’t give right of way to ambulances. He made it a point to try and help them whenever possible by physically knocking on their glasses when he rode his bike to make way for emergencies. The goodness he garnered in him gave him the feeling of Batman, and also, this song. “All it takes is a bit of kindness,” he says.
The song’s style derives from good ol’ Pop Rock as seen in many popular Indie singer/songwriters. Released on 17th November, it starts with an airy electric guitar and vocals, with the cymbals slowly chip in. After setting a quaint intro, the song takes form with charged vocals from Dwayne as he begins his lines about friendship and time. He comes into his self in the main verses where he talks bitterness, fear, and kindness.
The video, shot and created with an artistic temper by Amit Batra, features an elegant contemporary dance by Eden Pereira. He swirls with grace as Dwayne does his thing with the mic and the guitar.
Dwayne’s story begins with a household surrounded by church, choir, jazz, country, and rock n roll with a hot stepping hop-jiving grandfather. “My mom’s understanding of music and pitching made me a better listener. Grandparents and mom spent time listening to MJ, Kenny G, Louis Armstrong, Dean Martin, Sting, Bryan Adams, Frank Sinatra, etc. I remember my learning techniques.”
Performing at schools and college competitions for him became the norm. He also performed at restaurants in college earn money. “Performing all across Mumbai from 2009 has helped me build relationships with many people leading me to also be a part of the Bollywood backing vocalist scene. It led me to be a part of various music director’s entourage for studio sessions, like Clinton Cerejo (Coke Studio as well), Ranit Barot (MTV Unplugged and Chivas Studio), Amit Trivedi, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Jeet Ganguly and Pritam.”
Started as a musician professionally in 2009, the now-30 singer-songwriter took 9 months to record the track. With the entire production proudly done in ‘Aamchi Bombay’, he says, “ The audio was recorded at Acoustriks studio in Bandra. A lot of time was spent tweaking segments at my producers, the Justin-Uday Duo’s home set up. The 1st location was a container yard we got access to and recorded one part. The second was at The World Dance School, Lokhandwala and the third was a secret location by a lake near Igatpuri. The choreography as well as the dancer in the video is his childhood friend Eden Pereira.”
With an impressive portfolio as an artist, Dwayne hopes to collaborate with AR Rahman and Sting some day.
