Konkani songs are sung throughout the year and Goans just wait for social occasions to dance to these numbers. To add to this list of upbeat English and Konkani hits is the latest song by Dylan Rodrigues, ‘Senorita’ which makes one put on their dancing shoes. With 19,000 views in just a week, this song is winning hearts all over the world.
Born in Betalbatim, Dylan is the son of Dorothy Rodrigues and Constancio Rodrigues and brother to Chinsa Rodrigues. He completed his schooling at St Anthony High School, Majorda till Class 10 before moving to London in 2016. However, it was this school in Goa that encouraged him to explore his different talents. “All my teachers pushed me to great heights and my ability to perform on the stage. I started hosting right from Class 6 for annual day gathering. Teacher Felecia Fernandes was the one who pushed me and told me that I could do it. I participated in all the programmes in school and outside school and also acted and sang in various Konkani dramas. I used to also participate in various competitions like Mando, Kunbi Goan folk dance, Cha Cha Cha and many more,” says Dylan.
Dylan worked on the song for eight months as he wanted every aspect of the song to be perfect. The video was shot in the picturesque locales of the UK as well as Goa. The lyrics and composition is by Dylan while the music is by JSF (Joe Savio Fernandes) and the song was recorded at JSF Studios in the UK.
“I wanted a word to inspire me so that I could write a song, I found cor de rosa, a Portuguese word which means pink and I wrote the rough song in 30 minutes. I spoke to JSF about the song and then thought about the name which came out as Señorita. JSF and I started working on music and we tried different styles until we were satisfied. Then, we thought of asking the legendary rapper of Goa, Waking Grunt, who took the song to the next level. Once the music, rap and singing were in place, we moved to shooting. Olwin Fernandes has done the shooting in Goa with Waking Grunt while JSF and Sanket Fernandes have done the shoot in London with the main actress, Mariola Vaz,” says Dylan.
Speaking about the challenges of shooting in the UK, Dylan informs, “The video was shot at Kingston and Highcliffe in the UK and we couldn’t shoot properly in London because of the weather. Shooting was a bit hectic with layout of two day shoot. For the second day shoot, we had to wait in the car for 6 hours just because of the weather. We went in the morning at 5 am and ended up shooting in the evening. For one shot, the boat scene of the song, our drone fell in the water by hitting the bridge.”
Amit Naik, known by his stage name Waking Grunt, has been singing rap songs on various issues related to Goa. However, he looks forward to opportunities where he can show his prowess with other genres too. He has sang a verse for ‘Senorita’.
“Joe Fernandes (JSF), who was working with Dylan, told me that he was working on a song and that my small rap verse will work out well in Dylan's song. I gave it a listen, and instantly felt the vibe of the song. I needed to be in it. That same day, I had my recording session for another song. I wrote down few verses for Senorita and recorded it along with my other song,” says Amit.
He further adds, “Actually, I had recorded two verses but, we decided to add in guitar solo in the first half instead of rap. I am always a fan of JSF's work and the music video is just perfect. I wish to be part of every love song as it is the only time I end up speaking about emotional things, which in my originals go missing, especially when I rap about issues related to society.”
After moving to the UK, Dylan attended west Thames College in London where he played badminton for the college. He was a member of a Goan band in the UK, ‘Paper Boats’ and also performed as a solo artiste for Goa Day, UK’s biggest event festival, with the song ‘Goa Bangarachem’. Currently working at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5, he is a singer, dancer, actor and emcee/host. He began his YouTube career with his first song, ‘Oh Moga’ in 2022, followed by other songs including English song, ‘Just for you’, Konkani song ‘Vatt Sasnachim’ and the most recent song, ‘Señorita’.
“My first Konkani song was ‘Oh Moga’ which came out in 2022 and it was a great success. I have been working with the same team for all my songs. Savio Pereira, JSF (Joe Savio Fernandes, James Vaz, Mariola Vaz, Olwin Fernandes, Lindell Da Silva are always a part of my music career on YouTube,” says Dylan.
Speaking about the love for Konkani music in the UK and how his songs have been received, Dylan says, “People just love Konkani music and we have lots of Goan events happening for the whole year that keeps them close to Konkani.”