RJ Rohit caught up with London based singer, songwriter and producer Rahul Prasad aka Renao. He was born in India and began seriously considering music when he moved to Leeds to study music at university.
Renao characterises his music as “Frank Ocean meets Harry Styles” or “Tyler, the Creator meets John Mayer,” but regardless of how you describe it, it’s evident that his music is a blend of his influences while still allowing him to carve out his own path.
He started uploading recordings and ideas on his Instagram and Soundcloud after meeting a group of like-minded pals and potential collaborators. Early demos of original compositions ‘Strawberrrry Swing’ and ‘Still Beating,’ as well as a lo-fi rendition of Frank Ocean’s ‘Lost,’ can still be found on his profile.
He excelled at badminton and even had Olympic aspirations, but music eventually took precedence. Renao is inspired by American youth and pop culture, and he enjoys the cinematic views and coming-of-age cliches that come to mind when you think of John Hughes films, road trips, house parties and sunset beach fires.
He began his career as an EDM producer before adding vocals to his own instrumentals. Renao, an alt-R&B musician backed by BBC Radio 1 tastemaker Jack Saunders, had his big break, courtesy TikTok when his 2021 track ‘Nobody’ took the internet by storm. Despite his claim that he still doesn’t understand the app, the budding star received the support he needed to keep believing in himself.
The musician had recently released his debut EP, ‘From The South,’ which includes two brand new songs, after previously only releasing three singles.
RJ Rohit struck up a conversation with Indie Artist Renao about his debut EP. Check it out below.
—Silviya.Y