Popular Indian singer Remo Fernandes unleashed an era of Goan pop, rock, and instrumental fusion in the 1990s.
Primarily known for his fusion of many different cultures and styles he is also well-known as a film playback singer in India.
Remo was influenced by Goan and Portuguese music, Sega music, African music, Latin music, the music of Jamaica and Soca.
In an interview to 'The Week', Remo said - "After about a decade of going crazy over Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, The Shadows, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, one of the greatest influences in my life was the psychedelic music of the 70s, especially the movie 'Woodstock', which I watched over and over again. That was the era when rock broke all barriers and became experimental; Jethro Tull fused it with western classical, Blood Sweat & Tears fused it with jazz, Santana fused it with Latin, Osibisa fused it with African... rock truly became the voice of global youth, no more the prerogative or monopoly of America."
Remo performed songs in English – ‘Pack That Smack’ and ‘Bombay City’ – and is the only Known Indian singer who gave Bollywood hits with his distinctive Hindi accent.
In late-1980s, he penned, composed and sung the now legendary song – ‘Dekho Dekho Ye Hia Jalwa’ - from the film ‘Jalwa’.
WATCH VIDEO: DEKHO DEKHO YE HAI JALWA
Then came the song that made history!
In 1995, Remo teamed up with director Mani Ratnam and composer A. R. Rahman for ‘Humma Humma’ in the Hindi film Bombay.
WATCH VIDEO: HUMMA HUMMA
‘Huiya Ho’ was the next hit he composed for the film ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’ in 1996.
WATCH VIDEO: HUIYA HO
In the late-1990s, Remo’s Hindi album – ‘O, Meri Munni’ – became an instant hit and topped all Indipop charts.
WATCH VIDEO: O, MERI MUNNI
Despite his popularity as an Indian pop artist, he preferred to remain largely known as a stage-performer in India and abroad.
To know more about Remo's life and music, listen to Amit Sarwal's conversation with Mohit Pandit in SBS Hindi's Indipop Gupshup.
