Rahul Suntah
Quick Facts
Biography
Rahul Suntah (born June 6, 1997) is a Mauritian composer, music producer and pianist currently based in England. Rahul was featured on popular platforms such as BBC and ITV for his viral piano covers of popular songs reaching millions of views on Instagram and his innovative ways of playing the piano.
Early life
Suntah is a classically trained pianist who started learning the piano aged 8, at the Frederic Chopin Conservatory of Music situated in his hometown in Mauritius where he studied ABRSM Piano and Music Theory for 7 years. Suntah got his Bachelor's degree in Audio and Music Technology from UWE Bristol in 2019 and his Master's degree in Composition for Film and Television from the University of Bristol in the UK in 2021. Suntah temporarily moved to Carlisle after his studies before moving to London in 2022.
Career
Suntah began composing music at the age of 13 and was a self-taught pianist after finishing his ABRSM Grade 5 exams. After finishing high school, Suntah decided to pursue his studies in Audio and Music Technology at the University of the West of England in Bristol in 2016, graduating in July 2019 with focus in composition, production and sound engineering. During his time at university he was among the winners of the annual UWE Bristol Talent Show in 2019. In February 2020, Suntah independently released his debut EP entitled Piano Stories entirely composed and self-produced by himself. In August 2020, Suntah was among the finalists of the Mauritian talent show Zenes Montre To Talan depi Lakaz. In early 2021, Suntah was featured as a spotlight artist on BBC Music Introducing talking about his original composition Paradise Island which eventually made the list for the top tracks of 2021. Suntah started getting recognition online after several of his videos went viral on Instagram and Facebook such as his piano rendition of Mozart's Rondo Alla Turca. His first ever viral video was his cover of the popular hit Despacito in 2017, which had attracted over ten thousand followers on his instagram page in the span of a few weeks. Passionate about cinematography and film music, Suntah pursued a Master's degree in Film Scoring on scholarship at the University of Bristol, graduating in 2021. His cover of Gorillaz's Feel Good Inc. caught the attention of the popular American viral video show Right This Minute, was featured on BBC Radio Bristol's website in October 2021 and currently has millions of views on his instagram. His album Cinematic Wonders was released in December 2021 featuring a compilation of original music written for screen media during his time at University. Suntah was invited to play at a prestigious concert in Manchester Cathedral in February 2022 and was interviewed by british news programme ITV News about his musical career and his first UK concert. Suntah subsequently had his first solo concerts in Bristol and London in 2022. Suntah's cover of I'm So Excited by The Pointer Sisters was used in Maandag 's TV advert, a Dutch recruitment agency promoting new jobs in Amsterdam. Suntah was invited to star in the commercial in November 2022 directed and produced by The Family Amsterdam, an advertising agency working with the likes of Cara Delevingne and Snoop Dogg and was also invited to open for Maandag 's award show. Suntah was featured as a green room guest on BBC Radio London to chat about his career and perform live on radio. Suntah gave an exciting opportunity to young piano prodigy Rebecca Seziba from Cape Town, who went viral in early 2023, to join him in a virtual duet for his original composition Home Bound. The story attracted the support of popular american actress Viola Davis who shared their collaboration on her instagram page.
Musical style and influences
Rahul has been described as a versatile musician and a piano prodigy known for blending Classical and Popular music and for reshaping the way the piano is played, using unconventional piano extended techniques and live loop setups with a Novation Launchpad while also incorporating a wide range of other musical genres such as Electronic, Jazz, Rock, Pop, R&B and EDM. Rahul cites many artists that influenced and inspired him across many genres such as Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Charlie Puth, Jacob Collier, Jamie Cullum, Daft Punk, Michael Jackson, Queen, Peter Bence, The Piano Guys and many more.
Discography
Album/EP | Details |
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Piano Stories (EP) |
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Cinematic Wonders (Album) |
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Horizons (Single) |
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Published Arrangements
- Paradise Island, Rahul Suntah
- Space Wander, Rahul Suntah
- Home Bound, Rahul Suntah
- Fly me to the Moon, Frank Sinatra
- Blinding Lights, The Weeknd
- Underdog, Alicia Keys
- She Will Be Loved, Maroon 5
- Shape of You, Ed Sheeran
- Despacito, Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee
- Échame la Culpa, Luis Fonsi & Demi Lovato
- The Avengers, Alan Silvestri
- Señorita, Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
- Another One Bites the Dust, Queen.
Awards
Year | Organisation | Award | Result | Ref |
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2019 | UWE Bristol | UWE Bristol's Got Talent 2019 | Won | |
2020 | Ministry of Youth, Empowerment, Sports & Recreation | Zenes Montre To Talan Depi Lakaz 2020 | Nominated |