Desi talent, global vibes

Musician Savan Kotecha on forming Indian boyband OutStation, working with renowned international artists, and more

- Verus Ferreira

While the boy band format is a bit different here when it comes to music and dance, there have been many Indian boy bands that have come and gone and left their imprint.

Recently, following a nation-wide talent hunt, thousands of auditions and a boot camp in Goa, international record producer and songwriter Savan Kotecha, famous for his work with Ariana Grande, The Weeknd, One Direction and more recently on Ed Sheeran's smash hit Sapphire, ignited a new Indian boy-band between the ages of 17 to 22 that goes under the name OutStation.

The Indian-American of Gujarati descent, is a 17-time Grammy nominee, Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, and the recipient of multiple Billboard Music Awards, BMI Awards, and ASCAP Awards.

Kotecha's imprint label Visva Records India, formed the band OutStation, in partnership with Republic Records and Universal Music India. The band has five exceptionally talented youngsters from across India. The band hasn't yet brought out any music; once they get into the studio and release their music, Kotecha is all set to make them India's band.

Excerpts from the interview:

What sparked the idea to form a boyband?

It's something I've always wanted to do. And now that I'm at a place in life where I feel grounded and happy with what I've accomplished so far, I knew this had to be the next mountain to climb. India has so much talent and such a massive youth population; there needs to be more representation of that.