Patio Unplugged: Tanisha Serrao writes songs that millennials will immediately connect with

Editor’s note: Patio Unplugged — a platform for indie artistes and a Lazy Patio Films production — is bringing over 30 musicians from Mumbai in its first season, to audiophiles. Born out of a love for acoustic music and a passion for film-making, Patio Unplugged not only provides a stage to artists but also a chance to record their music, and shoot two music videos. What sets this programme apart, is that artistes from across genres recreate their music in an unplugged format. Each artist/band featured on the show will perform two original songs. The Habitat Comedy and Music Café is the audio partner for the show. The Habitat also records, mixes and masters the tracks for Patio Unplugged and hosts the artistes every Saturday as an event called ‘The Listening Room Sessions’. We’re featuring each of the artistes from season 1, on Firstpost. Tanisha Serrao writes songs that the millennials would immediately connect with. A 19-year-old singer-songwriter based in Mumbai, Tanisha is inspired by modern pop musicians such as Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Halsey, Melanie Martinez and Ariana Grande. This influence is clearly evident in her music, her lyrics and the way she sings. Tanisha’s music is positively uplifting. What she wants to achieve through her music and lyrics is to make people forget about things that irk them. Tanisha wants to dispel all the tiny annoyances, and the big difficulties from the lives of her listeners, even if it’s for one tiny minute. In a similar attempt, the singer has released two new singles — ‘Poison’ and ‘Are You There?’ on the latest edition of Patio Unplugged. ‘Poison’, a song that took Tanisha three minutes to write at 2.30 am in the night, is about the pain of heartbreak. Being hurt by someone you love is a feeling that every person can in some way connect to, and that is what Tanisha sings about on ‘Poison’. A powerful track about loving, and losing, and dwelling in confusion, Tanisha’s vocals are raw and piercing on the track. The accompanying guitar almost perfectly complements the notion the song is trying to get across; that the best thing to do when love turns sour is to rid yourself of it.

On the second track ‘Are You There?’, Tanisha’s vocals shift to a much somber and subtle tone. The song talks about how we react to the loss of a loved one; be it your parents, best friend, or even your dog. The drifting sadness that one experiences when they lose someone they love, or the never-fading longing to see them again, makes this track a haunting one to listen to. Tanisha is able to capture the whirlwind of emotions one goes through in such a situation, and even attaches a positive touch to it. Her voice is just as powerful as it is on ‘Poison’, but she is able to show the vulnerability and helplessness, that forms the foundation of this song, almost flawlessly.