From success half way around the world, Canadian born singer Raghav, is set to release a new CD this summer, with the first single "So Much" heading to radio May 3rd.
Signed to Cordova Bay Records, the 29 year old Calgarian, first came on the Canadian national radar in 2007 when the Globe and Mail profiled him as one of "Canada's best kept secrets in the arts".
He has indeed been a "well kept secret" but that depends a great deal on where you were living.
If you had been living in London, England, you would know Raghav sold an impressive 1.6 million copies of his debut CD Storyteller. You would also know that he won a MOBO Award for Best Collaboration, and two UK Asian Music Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Single. In 2005 he also won an Urban Music Award for Best Chart Act.
If you had been living in India you would be familiar with his sophomore CD, Identity; would know that he had a #3 charted single and that he had won a Southern Asian Music Award for Best Artist, and an Asian Achievers Award.
And so you wonder who is this gifted artist? Raghav was born in Toronto but his family soon moved to Calgary and Fort McMurray and put down roots.
His parents enjoyed listening to Hindi and Indian classical music. As a child of 4 he remembers sitting in the back of their old Ford Granada with his mother listening to one of her favourite Bollywood tapes. One day when company was over, young Raghav decided to sing for them, and much to his parent's dismay, he sang one of the songs he'd been hearing in the car. They were amazed! It was later discovered that the Bollywood tape was actually stuck in the car cassette deck and little Raghav had been hearing the same three songs over and over and over -- the repetition paid off in his rather impressive performance!
At five he was enrolled in lessons and throughout his formative years his circle of musical influence widened to include Steve Wonder, Michael Jackson, Harry Belafonte, Garth Brooks and Marvin Gaye to mention a few.
At 17 Raghav's love of music took him to Los Angeles and vocal training with Seth Riggs (vocal coach for Madonna and Michael Jackson) and a year later he moved to Liverpool England where he studied at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts. It was during this time that he joined an R&B band called 11/7 which led to the MOBO Award nomination.
In 2004 his debut CD "Storyteller" was released on A&R Records, producing 4 singles and a world tour in 2005 that included concerts in India, the U.S., Africa, Australia and his home country of Canada. His sophomore album followed in 2009. "Identity" released through Universal in India rose to #3 on the charts.
His music style has been described as "Asian-flavoured U.S. R&B music with hip-hop flourishes". Raghav sees himself as more of a cross between Pop and Motown.
With the release of the single "So Much", from the late summer CD "The Phoenix" Raghav brings a fresh, new sound to the airwaves, that builds on his past successes and takes into account the learning curve that is music and life. He strove for a sound that was uniquely his, and as he noted "it's like wearing a new skin, but being very conscious of the old one that lies underneath."
On this, his first North American release, fans will see the connection to the past, and new fans will discover a melodic, well spoken, charismatic artist. Produced by Labrinth (#1 single in the UK "Pass Out" Tinie Tempah), "So Much" features fellow Canadian, Kardinal Offishall and represents the beginning of a new chapter in Raghav's career -- one that he has been wanting to write, and with the Canadian release of The Phoenix, he will.
