Mangal Suvarnan, an Indian DJ, vocalist and acoustic music producer who grew up in Dubai, hit a career milestone last week when he got the nod from Rihanna and her label Wesbury Road Entertainment to officially work on the dance remix to her song Consideration, from her 2016 album Anti.
He is the only Indian producer in the set of six artists who have been given the green signal for the remix, which was released on December 8 and can be heard on music streaming portals such as Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music.
“It has opened so many doors for me as a pop artist and a vocalist. It’s such a big validation to be approved by the pop star and the biggest label in the world. It’s a big milestone for me,” said Suvarnan in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
The 27-year-old musician, who was born in Saudi Arabia, studied in Delhi Private School in Sharjah and completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Herriot Watt University. But music is his true calling, and the conventional college degree was to appease his parents who wished to see him be armed with a university education. Now, they are happy that their son is making inroads into the music industry. His remix will be distributed by Roc Nation Records, an American entertainment company owned by Jay-Z .
“Getting commissioned by the label itself is a right way to go about a remix… With the bootleg remixes, you get flagged down and taken down. It leaves a bad taste as it isn’t legal. But this is legitimate,” said Suvarnan. His manager, Eric Van Der Kwast, had suggested that he work on the Barbadian hitmaker’s remix during a sushi meal at Amsterdam.
“As soon as I got home, I send him a working edit and he sent it to her label. They said it was fantastic… they loved my version. Their accepting my version is a big win for me,” he said.
This is just the beginning for the young artist. Suvarnan, who grew up on a steady diet of Metallica, Iron Maiden and Guns N’ Roses, is currently working on several collaborations.
In the past, Mangal has worked with labels such as Armada Music, co-founded by Armin Van Burren, to release his four-track EP Winds of Destiny, and also with Mixmash by Dutch DJ Laidback Luke.
