19-year old Saw Rolland Say, aka ROL!N Gray, is a singer-songwriter and producer born and raised in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, now settled in Bangalore. Raised in a Christian family as a pastor’s son, Gray was always around instruments in church and begun learning to play at the age of six, starting with the guitar and then moving on to the piano. He spent his initial years as part of a school band and begun writing songs at 15. Like most young artists, his first track, ‘I’m Not Okay’ came out of heartbreak after he parted ways with his first girlfriend last year. He takes inspiration for his style of “feel good” pop music from artists like Luav, Jeremy Zucker and Powfu.
“Music can change the world because it can change people.” by Bono is Gray’s favorite quote and his music brings this to life. His latest release ‘4000 miles’ on Nov 22, 2020, is a light-hearted number, reminiscent of ‘Hey There Delilah’ by the Plain White T’s. In a similar style as the latter, the track is about a long-distance lover with wording that is tender and affectionate, just like the puppy-dog love most of us knew when we were kids. Gray’s soulful voice blends perfectly with the acoustic guitar to leave you smiling, thinking about a simpler time. The song clings to the universal concept of love and appreciates simple things like a grey t-shirt. After he released the track, all his friends wanted to know who the mystery girl was.
If you go through all the three of his current releases, you can already see how Gray has progressed in terms of music quality, out-doing himself each step of the way. Surprisingly, all his music was recorded on a phone and produced on laptop software. He took a mere 20 minutes to pen down the lyrics for ‘4000 miles’, though the recording and production process took a week thereafter. He attends college like any other kid and finds time for music through the rest of the day. One thing is for sure, if you’re having a rough day or just want to lay back and relax, the vibe in Gray’s music will surely soothe your spirit and recharge your batteries.
