Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer & DJ Ritviz will do 7-City US Tour in Fall 2022

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Fresh off his collaboration with Ms. Marvel, singer, songwriter and record producer Ritviz has announced his next – a debut full-length album titled Mimmi,  which he describes as his “most personal piece of work till date”, and which serves as a humble ode to his mother, or “Mimmi” as he fondly refers to her.

The 9-track compilation is not only inspired by his childhood reminiscences but also pivots around the close bond he shares with his mother, who features as a vocalist and a lyricist on the Indian pop artiste’s upcoming release. Together, the mother-son duo impeccably navigates through the exploration and acknowledgment of their unique perspectives and notions of love via their individualistic musical sensibilities.

The album makes an earnest attempt to establish how life has come to a full circle for the 26-year-old, who has always attributed his burgeoning success within the music industry to his supportive parents.

Set to arrive on Sept. 2, Mimmi primes itself on being a signature earworm that sees the Darbhanga-born, Goa-based musician dissecting universal concepts that form the core of essential relationships in an intimate yet relatable fashion, through riveting and groovy soundscapes that come together to form a new Indian Pop sound.

Speaking about the album, Ritviz says, “Mimmi is a collection of songs I wrote with my mom, to understand love better. I feel very grateful for the love I have received and continue to receive—it has and always will give me the strength to keep moving forward. But where there’s love, there’s also heartbreak. Once I grew out of my cocoon and into the world outside, I truly realized the value of the love I was taught, while being accepting of other love languages. My journey of realizing this was the progression of the album that I shared with my mother, only to realize that it’s not the journey but the company that helped me rejoice and realize. And that is why the album is an ode to my mother.”

Elaborating further, he states, “Both my parents are musicians—my mother is a classical singer, and my father plays the tabla. As a child, I was widely exposed to Indian classical, but while in the fifth or sixth standard I started composing original music because I wanted to express myself freely and break away from the limitations under the traditional guru-shishya parampara. At the age of 12, I taught myself electronic music production, and invested nearly 16 hours a day working on music.”

He adds, “By the time I was 14 years old, I was writing 70 songs a week. At the time, school didn’t feel conducive to my passion in music so I dropped out in the eleventh grade. My parents were extremely supportive and created a protective shield around me to keep the naysayers at bay. Therefore, this album is a fitting ode to them, for always believing in my vision and encouraging me to be myself.”

Subsequent to the release of his much-hyped album, he will be embarking on a 7- city US tour in October 2022 that will see him performing in cities such as Seattle (9^th) , San Francisco (11 ^th ), Los Angeles (12 ^th), Chicago (16 ^th), Somerville (17 ^th), Washington DC (18 ^th) and New York (19 ^th).

In the build up to this release, his tracks Sage and Thandi hawa were incorporated in Marvel & Disney’s newest teenage superhero series Ms Marvel, while his original composition, Aavegi, featured in the finale episode of the show.

When Udd gaye released in 2017, very few people would have foreseen the meteoric rise in fame that would follow for a boy who had decided, at the age of five years, to make music the core of his universe. From then to now, Ritviz has discovered and assembled a sturdy fan-base for his emotionally-stirring intimate melodies and his compelling narratives that tell quintessential coming-of-age stories in unconventional ways.

It took him great courage to not only drop out of school to pursue his creative calling, but to also break away from the confines of classical Hindustani music and market his unique hybrid sound that is a fresh blend of classical, electronic, pop and Hip-Hop within a commercial landscape. His wholesome bond with his audiences took him from playing an afternoon slot at the 2015 edition of NH7 Weekender to headlining the main stage in 2022 with a performance that challenged the realm of possibilities for festival performances.

Having released four record-breaking EPs, worked alongside heavyweights like Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Major Lazer and LAUV and having launched his own music and comedy festival called YUV Fest, he achieved the feat of becoming the highest-streamed Indie artiste on Spotify, garnering 1 billion+ streams across audio and video platforms.

Amidst all of the statistics, Ritviz who grew up surrounded by Hindustani classical music has always held true to his desire to create music that tell real stories, inspired by emotions and people he has encountered along the way. Since winning the 2017 Bacardi House Party Sessions with his breakthrough hit track Udd gaye, Ritviz has had the kind of career arc that very few artistes experience, and it continues to only transcend.