I was born into a Kutchi family. For people who don’t know what Kutchi is, it’s like Gujarati is the genre and Kutchi is the sub-genre. Lol! My family has always been very supportive since childhood. Never stopped me from learning new things. In fact, they always pushed me to try new things. Dance has been a very key part of my life. I’ve been inclined toward dance since childhood. That’s how I feel I got more inclined towards music overall. Through Dance. I am a Libran, 11th October 11, 1994. And as you know, we Librans like to keep things balanced. And that can be your biggest strength. Because people tend to lose that balance. I’ve myself lost it at times, but then you gotta get your sh*t together and get everything back on track. And that’s what I believe in. Why waste time on cribbing? Better look for a new way and try that. If that also doesn’t happen, you look for a new possibility again, and you try. Keep trying till you make it. Period.
Q1. How did you discover your love for music, which made you choose the field of electronic music?
I used to live in a joint family until I was 9 or 10. And I was the youngest. So now imagine one set of people listening to Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, George Michael, and Bob Marley. A second set of people are listening to Jagjit Singh, Ghazals, Kishore Kumar, and RD Burman. Third set of people listening to 90s Indiepop, Lucky Ali, Instant Karma, Shaan, and DJ Aqeel. That was my family. I grew up listening to everything.
I started listening to electronic music when I was 18 or 19, I guess. I used to attend each and every concert happening in the city. I also went to a Pitbull concert once in Pune.
Concerts have been a major part of why I chose this field. Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Skrillex, Major Lazer, Yellow Claw, and Deadmau5. You name any artist; I attended them all. Hahaha, everything about concerts fascinates me so much. I used to go bonkers. There was this time when I was going mad dancing during Oliver Heldens’s set at EVC Lonavala, and some random guy came up to me, and he was like, ‘I’ve been noticing you since 30–40 minutes. You’re not drinking, smoking, or doing anything, but you’re continuously dancing. Love the energy!’ That was my zone. My space. Over time, I realized that this was what I wanted to do. Make them dance to my music.
Q2. Where do you find your inspiration for curating your music? Or do you follow anyone or anything to look for inspiration?
I remember being so hooked on Martin Garrix’s Animals and then cutting to me downloading a crack version of FL Studio and searching ‘How to Produce Like Martin Garrix’s Animals’ on Youtube, and there was this tutorial video of one guy arranging all the notes and stuff in FL. Studio. Cut to me just copying everything and doing that step-by-step as shown in the video. And voila! There I was listening to ‘Martin Garrix’s Animals’ My Version: That was my first time making music, or more like copy-pasting. Eventually, I realized that this is SHIT! I should know. how to create what goes inside my head. Then, I started learning music production from Zoheb Khan (Audioqube), the best in the field. Big shoutout, Sirji
Continuing my answer to your question, ‘Where do I find my inspiration for creating music?”. I watch music documentaries, which help me want to create every day. I follow the artists that I love, their work, and their style of production, and now that everything is very accessible because of social media, artists are sharing their latest stories every day. With all these things, there’s inspiration everywhere. It’s like a blessing if you keep your balance when it comes to social media. Keeping yourself updated with the latest releases.
All this comes naturally to me. I don’t have to put any effort into that. I do it because that’s what I live for. Music is what I breathe. This is what I want to do. Forever.
Q3. Since you are also an actor, how did the electronic music scene welcome you when you were beginning? Also, how do you manage music production along with acting?
The electronic music community has always been very welcoming and loving in every way. Everyone is equal. There shouldn’t be special treatment for anyone, I believe. Mitti se aaye ho, Mitti mein jaana hai. Ghamand kis cheez ka. Karm karo, phal ki chinta mat karo. If your karma is good, phal toh pakka milega. I took a break from acting for two years because I wanted to balance one thing first. Now that music is pretty balanced, this year I got back to acting. I recently did Taarak Mehta Ka Oolta Chashma, where I played the character of a ‘Tattoo Artist’. Fun part. You all should watch it, hahahaha.
Q4. The world of electronic music looks quite fascinating to its fans and artists, and they wish to be a part of it. What is your take on it, and what message would you want to give them about the industry that they don’t usually get to know about?
The amount of hard work, dedication, sleepless nights, experimenting with different styles, creating every day, facing 100 obstacles, managing production, artists, etc. It’s all a collective effort that goes into putting on a show, a music piece, or anything related to electronic music. Where we connect with each other. Through the language of music. On the dance floor, I am, because you all are. The more, the merrier. It feels good to see new listeners getting inclined towards electronic music.
There’s only one thing I’ll ask my electronic music enthusiasts to do: focus on buying tickets instead of asking for guest lists. The more tickets you buy, the more it’ll help to grow the scene faster.
Q5. Can you share the DJing experience that you had while you were in your initial phase of DJing? Any incident or any anecdote with the audience?
I used to play opening sets in my initial phase of DJing, and at that time, EDM was the trend. So I used to play Deep House, Future House, and all that stuff because I was opening the night. And that helped me a lot, because that’s where you learn. Opening sets. You can experiment with different transitions and styles in one set. These days, many DJs have forgotten the value of opening sets. They just want to play the top 100 Beatport bangers, but that’s not how it’s done. Your job is to educate and introduce the audience to new underground music. It’s in the name itself. Keep it underground. Don’t make it commercial. There should be people on the dancefloor going, ‘Damn, what is this track? Let me shazam it’. Introduce them to new artists.
Incident or anecdote with the audience
One incident that is etched in my memory is at the Coco Club in Pune. This must have been four years ago. I was testing my track ‘Alien on Acid’ in a club setting for the first time, and there was this guy in the front row who was so hooked on this catchy acid vocal melody in my track that I felt that he was on the same wavelength as when I produced that. That feeling was unreal!
Q6. Share your production scene with your track “Aaja Sajna,” and what does its success look like?
I put my heart, mind, and soul on this track. I was going through a very emotional state when I made this track. And I am so glad that I was able to put those emotions into my music. 100% Pure. And that’s the reason you all also felt it. My future releases will also make you feel that: hard and fast yet melodic and emotionally charged.
Every time I play ‘Aaja Sajna’ and watch all your hearts out, it makes me very emotional. Two months ago, I was performing in Thane at MH 04, and that was the first time I realized that people actually know ‘AAJA SAJNA’. They were all singing their hearts out. Whatta feeling
Q7. Who is your favorite artist in the electronic music scene? Someone’s work that you look up to.
There’s no one artist as such. But I’ll still name a few because I look up to their work. Nico Moreno, Boston 168, KAS:ST, Bicep, Carv, Grigoré, and ZHU.
Q8. How was your experience sharing a platform with artists like Paolo Ferrara, Regal, Alt8, Saytek, etc.? What were your major takeaways from that collaboration?
Sharing stages with these international and local legends, everything is now a beautiful reality that once felt like a dream. I am glad I didn’t stop doing this years ago, when many of my so-called peeps didn’t believe in me.
Watching Regal and Luigi Madonna listen to my track ‘Dance With Me’ in front of me on my laptop and vibing to it! Hahaha, what a moment!
Q9. How was your experience performing at Mysteryland? What did you play from your set there?
Heard a lot about Delhi Open Air Shows and then playing at one, mad fun! Sadly, it rained after my set, and they had to cancel the rest of the show. Aaja Sajna was the highlight for me.
Q10. What is next in your line-up? Can we expect any collaboration or any new release from your end? Planning a tour?
Next in the lineup for this year: more traveling, more happiness, and spreading happiness! This year is all about releasing music. I am releasing my next track, ‘Something Special, next month. 150 BPM | SITAR | HARD TECHNO | CRISPY ACID | EMOTIONALLY CHARGED VOCALS. Hard techno that will make you cry.
I am also releasing a new track under Messiah next month. Melodic. The name of the track is Contact. And, oh yeah, also for people who don’t know. I have two stage names. AJNA is for acid techno, and MESSIAH is my melodic techno moniker. I am also learning Sarangi, and I plan to play Techno with Live Sarangi next year.
Yeah, I guess that’s it for now. Hahaha I hope you got everything. Peace