Singer-songwriter, composer and producer Ritviz’s debut album—which follows a string of hugely successful singles and EPs—takes him back to where it all started. Mimmi is named after and dedicated to the artist’s mother, Hindustani classical vocalist Anvita Bharti, who taught him music as a child.
The eight tracks on the album are based on a series of conversations between Ritviz and his mum, who actually co-wrote all the lyrics with him. Collectively, the songs chart a journey of emotional growth for the independent music star. He tells Apple Music that, as a “young adult”, the whole album is his “quest” to better understand love.
“[The album talks about] the unconditional aspect of the love that was provided to me by my folks versus the love that I’m experiencing in the world right now,” he reveals. “I’m trying to figure out [why] I’m not receiving it [in my] romantic relationships or friendships, [even though] this is what I was taught.”
Ritviz takes us through the album, which leans further into the electronic-music maker’s Indian classical background, track by track.
“Aaj Na”
“We begin the album with me being very sad in the present. And that makes me reminisce. ‘Aaj Na’ is basically me reminiscing about my past and being pretty sad about my general adult life. I’m thinking about the past, placing myself in memories and trying to relive them.”
“Mehfooz”
“The first song is about my mom and my dad—the vessels who provided me with love. The second song is about when I started extracting love out of those experiences and I realised what it was that was making me want this so much in my life. Why am I craving it? What is this need that is building up? So I start focusing on the love itself. It’s almost as if in this song, I’m falling in love with love.”
“Mimmi”
“The third song, which is the title track, has vocals from my mom. Now I’ve reached a point where I’ve looked at the past and I’ve started looking at the present, and a sense of a future is starting to appear. [This is reflected in] the song’s progression. It starts off with my mom’s vocals. Then there are my verses. And then we have Ma come back with an alaap and I join her on it.”
“Chandamama”
“‘Chandamama’ is a letter to my kids. I’ve now started to look forward to the future. I’m getting hopeful that I can achieve this [unconditional love]. The song is me instilling certain values that I was taught. It’s just a very idealistic letter to my [unborn] kids about how I lived my life.”
“Taj”, “Jaana”, “Pukaar”
“We now move on to a more celebratory side of the album. My foundation has been set and I’ve started to build on it. I’m happy and I’m hopeful. ‘Taj’, ‘Jaana’ and ‘Pukaar’—these three songs are my call to my beloved. [It’s like I’m saying,] ‘I’m going to find you one day.’ I’m addressing a person [in] any kind of relationship that I would want to have. And while I’m singing the songs, I’m also having these conflicts, like, ‘What if I’m living in a pattern? Am I getting hopeful again just to reach disappointment again?’”
“Aas Paas”
“The last song is when I hit this major epiphany, which is that if I’m looking for unconditional love, that means I’m expecting [it, which] breaks the entire idea of being unconditional. If I’m expecting things then that’s not unconditional. The album ends with this realisation that my job is to just give. That I need to stop thinking about the results. The process is the reward.”