Songwriter-producer, Jainil Devani from Rajkot will take you on a lyrical ride with his new record 'The End of the Line'

19-year-old Jainil Devani can make you dive into an ocean of emotions with his meaningful lyrics, while the rhythm and the composition will not let you get them out of your mind!

You'll probably find Jainil Devani with his headphones lost somewhere listening to Taylor Swift, or watching Thomas & Friends, or writing songs and working on melodies. This young Songwriter-producer is a medical student from Gujarat, and his words will make you fall in love with the stories he has to tell. In his first record ‘Club Sunset', Jainil had 8 songs, and now in his second one, he presents 5 beautiful tracks that are intricate and a treat to the ears.

'The End of the Line' features songs like Chicago, Dancing Boots, Glacial, 5.30, and a reprise version of Chicago. Though each one of them is equally captivating and fun to listen to, Chicago is our favourite. The video is aesthetic while the lyrics are cold and tragic. The whole record revolves around this one song and now we know why.

 "For a long time, I’ve wanted to write about tragic legendary loves, and all of it just clicked together. Tragedies are stories that just have so much heart, the ability to touch the scariest and deepest feelings inside you. Writing ‘Chicago’ was tough. I didn’t go into this track expecting this, but it just came together. I wrote the chorus and it was so electric just typing that out. Also, I had this visceral, vivid visual in my head — that whole feeling around songwriting, it’s fascinating.", says Jainil.

The song features two very talented singers Alicia Orozco & Tomas Baptista. The vocals are on point and sound great. " I started working with Alicia on the song, ‘Dancing Boots’ and then I sent her ‘Chicago’. It was so ethereal, hearing her takes for the first time. Also, I wanted a really specific voice for the male vocals, and Tomas absolutely nailed it. I will never forget, it was 2:30 am, I put all the takes together, put on my headphones, and heard the whole song for the first time, and literally just cried at the second chorus when they sang together, watching this song come alive was absolutely captivating, and I cannot thank these two amazing people enough." adds Jainil.

Jainil has written all the songs on his own and sums this experience as something exciting. "This story was so special and close to my heart, mapping it out and putting it down was a beautiful experience. It didn’t feel like something I was coming up with, it never does. It feels like this unexplored realm in your head that’s just there. And if you pay attention, dust off the pages, and dare to read on, you’ll discover something and that becomes your art. This probably sounds unhinged, but there’s no other way I could explain it. Diving into this world, becoming these characters was so exciting, and I can’t wait to figure out what’s next."

Further, talking about his songwriting process he says, " Random. Sporadic. Always unpredictable. I’ve never written a good song when I sat down to write one. I’ll always have some random blurbs, choruses, verses going on in my Notes app. Songwriting and production is very integrated for me, so it all just happens together. I’ll usually start with some piece of music, some piece of lyric, add in the melody and it just flows from there. Sometimes, a song’s written in 20 minutes. Sometimes, months."

Jainil Devani has also produced this record and for him, it has been enticing. " You know when you have this beat, and melody and lyrics, and then you just get this perfect piece of the instrument or something and it all just fits into place, that spark is my favourite part. Like for Chicago, I remember I had everything and I just wrote: “Anchor to my ship / Morphine in my drip” that whole line, and boom! When you figure out a song, that spark, yeah that’s my favourite part. Also, there are just so many intricacies to take care of in music production as a whole. I’m my worst critic. I’ll work on one little thing and just ruin ten others. But I’m always learning, always trying to be a little better, and yeah, it’s just so fun, even with the challenges."

Talking about his creative process, Jainil says he usually finishes a skeleton of the song and then records a rough demo and sends it to his friends, my collaborators, the vocalists. " From that point on, we’ll build on the vocals, layer them, the usual. The whole thing is so much fun, and it is so amazing to work with people who are like you, who believe in art and its inherent power."

The songs are great, and so is the entire record, but what caught our attention was the gorgeous and intriguing cover. " ' The End of the Line' was extremely carefully woven in together. Every song connects to another. And the artwork is placed delicately among all of them. Zyronis, who is an incredibly talented painter, crafted it. It’s the central character of the story, holding a blood-stained scepter (go figure), hiding her tears, stoic and lithe at the centre of her queendom, having lost everything." says Jainil.

His debut ‘Club Sunset' was also a lyrical and musical delight. But as it was his first record, many things would trouble Jainil Devani. " There is so much going on behind the curtains as an independent artist that people have no idea about. From putting down the first note and first lyric, all the way to making sure the final product gets to Spotify on time, your videos, website, everything. I was entirely clueless about these things and learned as I went with Club Sunset. So, for this one, it was all much more systematic and laid out. I was able to much better mitigate this whole release cycle." expresses Jainil.

On an artistic note, and this is very strange to me, writing this one was much scarier. Every time I’d make something, I was much more critical of it, unsure of it. It was a delicate process. For Club Sunset, I had about 2 years of material to sort through and pick the best parts. For The End of the Line, it was much more focused and intricate. But, both were absolutely wonderful experiences, through and through." adds Jainil.

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At such a young age of 19, Jainil Devani is doing a remarkable job when it comes to song composing and writing. But, when did it all begin for him? To our surprise, it wasn’t an actual ‘passion’ during childhood! " I loved music, obviously, but it was storytelling I was into more. Getting lost in spectacular vistas in my head, imaginary, random stuff. Making up plots and costumes and characters." he says.

Jainil then began finding poetry and romanticism in these ideas and putting them into verses and choruses. " I was hit with this whole new wave of music, Taylor Swift, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, they weren’t just singing, they were inviting you to step into new shoes and explore a new world, all while channeling everything you were already feeling." Jainil adds.

Though the music wasn't a passion when Jianil was a kid, later it became one. " When I started looking at music in a new way, realizing that it was the way I wanted to tell stories, I was dreaming up album scenarios and artworks and writing random, disjointed, weird lyrics. This was like when I was 14 or something, and I still have those files and it’s so funny. But then I remember that exact moment, I wrote this one song called “Unless I Dream” and I was like, I want to put this out! And so I began exploring the production, actually working towards something concrete.

Flash forward to 2019, I released my first track, “Balcony Stories.” It was this simple, beautiful, acoustic guitar track. Then, I started working on my debut record which came out in 2020, and now “The End of the Line!” Come to think of it, it’s been a very zigzag journey, but at the same time, I feel so at home in these melodies.", expressed Jainil.

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QUICK 5

What 3 things you would recommend to someone to do who is visiting Gujarat? Oh, um, Eat lots of food, immerse yourself in the culture and have fun! There’s so much new food to try here, it’s endless. And everything’s so vibrant, there’s always something going on!

A Song you’d dedicate to Rajkot? Um, hard one, but I’d go with “Half of my Hometown” by Kelsea Ballerini, I think. That song just hits different.

What is about Rajkot that you love the most? I think the fact that it’s just so brimming and full of life. Whenever I come here, there’s a characteristic, everything’s so colourful, alive. 

Favourite eatery in your city? Ooh, it’s super hard to pick one, but I’d say going to like, the Race Course or something with your friends and just getting whatever you’re in the mood for - yeah that’s incredibly fun.

A spot in your city where you’d like to go and write songs? I’m very conservative about this so I’m gonna say my home! But honestly, there’s inspiration and stories lurking everywhere, you just gotta look for them in rose coloured glasses.

Also Read: Meet Avanti Nagral from Mumbai, a singer, songwriter, a package content creator, whose goofy videos will crack you up too!

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