Siddharth Upadhyay, also known as Vasuki, comes from a Brahmin family of priests based in Raipur. His father is a “Mridangam” player, and his mother is an ardent film enthusiast. His younger brother, Tarun, is a classical singer and is continuing the legacy of his family as a priest. Apart from being a music producer, Vasuki also has interests in acting, modeling, and dancing.
He keeps the horizons of his mind wide and possesses a never-give-up attitude, ready for any situation without putting his family’s happiness at stake. Also, he has his family’s support for his interests, which gives him strength to perform at his best.
The initial phase of Vasuki’s journey as a DJ wasn’t a cakewalk, but he had his fair share of hurdles, as Raipur didn’t have much scope for DJing. Coming from a family of priests, it was also hard for him to convince them about his passion for music production. He had perseverance and kept working without any financial support to make his dream of becoming a DJ true. To support himself, he relied on working for various small jobs, and his determination helped him learn from small, sound vendors. After that, he took training for a year in Mumbai and returned to Raipur with expertise in techno music. After gaining a good experience and name in the industry, he won his family’s trust, and they feel absolutely proud of him today.
Vasuki believes that Indian music has the potential to coexist with Western pop, techno, and trance music. Also, he thinks that music has it’s roots in Sanskrit and uses mantras in his original compositions, showing his respect for Indian heritage.
He has the determination to create sets and work on transitions that create a seamless flow in his performances. Vasuki likes to keep the keynotes of different tracks together and also succeeds in fulfilling the taste of the audience, which makes the whole experience of music more remarkable.
Vasuki finds his inspiration in his surroundings. While he is walking or traveling somewhere, he notices the sounds of nature and the people around him. He records these and tries to sync them together to curate his style of music.
He is fond of Hardwell, Tiesto, Dimitri Vegas, Mike, and Nicky Romero’s work and looks up to them for the kind of music they create. KSHMR is an artist that he is a fan of! It was then, in 2022, that Vasuki got into curating techno music and took inspiration from Boris Brecha’s and Droplex’s work. After that, he also explored his taste in melodic house.