Dhruv Visvanath is a modern-day troubadour. Becoming adept at both piano and guitar by his teenage years, the singer-songwriter spent most of his childhood traveling the globe with his family through places such as Hong Kong, England, and Zambia. At 16, Visvanath’s father passed away and he returned to India following the tragedy, intent on selling his very much non-traditional sound to a New Delhi audience. Years of corroding culture shock and sharing his world-spanning sound with Indian and international listeners alike, the guitar virtuoso has developed a name for himself and his innovative songwriting.
Coming from off of his new album, The Lost Cause, “Wild” is a song that lives up to its name. Dusted with tinges of Justin Vernon-esque ingenuity, the avant-garde folk song is universally relatable at its heart, detailing a lust and a search for a childlike sense of freedom that has evaded many of us for far too long. Visvanath, impeccably enough, tells this story incredibly well through the eyes of sentient mops in his music video—and, yes, you did read that right.
Visvanath tells PopMatters, “The music video was such an epic journey because there were so many concepts going back and forth and I think it took four months before the mops came to be. The moment I’d head the idea from my director Tanvi Gandhi, I just decided to let her take control and take the idea all the way to the end. I’m so glad the music video turned out the way it did. I’m beyond thrilled that this song is going to champion my album The Lost Cause, which releases on the 19th of April 2018.”
“I don’t tend to write love songs, as I tend to feel that it shows only one dimension to human emotions. With the video, I felt that with the faceless characters that the mops possess, it felt like anyone could put their faces there and live the same experiences that the mops go through. And that’s how I’ve written the entire album as well. I want to echo the sentiments of humanity, of the little things that matter.”