Roohanee Onkar Singh, known as “Technaari”, music introduction began when she was just 2 years old, her mother took her on her first jungle outdoor musical event in Nepal at her back. She got her musical influence from her mother listening to Juan Atkins, Gwen Stefani and also the classic tunes of Kishore Kumar. She grew up with her single parent, mother who forwarded her strength and independence to Technaari which made her resilient and determined towards her goals. Technaari has a different respect for the leading women in the electronic music scene and draws inspiration from them.
She went to her first techno gathering in 2007 that featured Oliver Huntemann and Dubfire who performed their set back to back. This experience was quite transformative for Technaari and gave her an enthusiasm for this music genre. Then she went to Kazantip Festival in 2013 where she was deeply influenced by Nastia’s performance where she witnessed her dominance in a male-dominated field, showing her exceptional talent and setting a benchmark for the future female electronic music artists. Experiences like these, shaped Technaari’s journey of music and also brought her closer to music eventually inspiring her to follow her passion with vigor and strong determination.
Technaari shared with us that she finds her inspiration from the universe’s vastness. Initially, she used to listen to almost 100 new songs, tracks and podcasts every day and as the month would come to an end, she would make a list of her favourites from them. She even continues this practice to explore different dance music genres. She wishes to blend her taste with the music that resonates with the audience of today. Technaari aims to craft a piece that reflects herself as she performs for the crowd. For her, a DJ is someone who understands and becomes the part of the crowd while he/she plays their set of music channeling their energy and introducing their world of music to the audience.
She is someone who has spent years being a part of the crowd, absorbing and understanding people who follow a rhythm. These experiences enabled her to approach to pursue DJing. Technaari wishes to find the perfect equilibrium between the crowd’s demands and her desires for music. She works consistently on making her sets fresh and exciting by mixing new and spicy elements with beats that hit hard and maintain a groovy undertone. She knows her way to balance a familiarity with innovation that keeps her engaged actively with the crowd. With each track and transition she aims to take the crowd on a journey where she can develop a deeper connection with them. This would give them a memorable experience altogether. She believes in DJing where the artist and the audience both flow in harmony as one entity.
When asked about her being relevant in the ever-changing electronic music scene, Technaari replied that she balances her artistic vision where she evolves with time as she keeps herself connected with the music community, attending festivals, collaborating with different artists and updating herself with the emerging trends. In this process, she keeps her creative instincts firm and stays true to her taste and intuition to push her boundaries and explore new avenues. Technaari describes her music production journey as a dance between innovation and connection that keeps evolving like music. This is the space where she finds the true meaning of being an artist in this world of electronic music.
Technaari also shared her moments of appreciation with us where she mentioned her favourite one as the one that touched her in a true sense. She told us that she met a young guy who used to attend her shows in Delhi NCR and nearby cities for a year. Once, after her gig ended, he approached her to share his story and told her that he had lost both of his parents in a car accident a year ago and since then he had lost his interest in life. One of his colleagues took him to one of her gigs and that night changed things for him for life! He felt motivated by the music and her performance’s energy. He found a spark in him after it and decided to learn DJing after he attended her gig. After that incident, he kept attending almost all of her shows and took his takeaways with him from every performance of hers. Finally, he got his show announced and came to invite her personally for his debut performance. This moment was really beautiful for Technaari as her music helped somebody to rediscover their passion and build their life again. She said that nothing can be more rewarding than this for an artist.
As we further talked and came to social media’s significance for an artist, Technaari mentioned that she is not a social media person and that can be seen from her profile. She considers it to be a great platform to interact with people and to connect with like-minded people across the world. It was people’s genuine support and enthusiasm for her work that changed her perspective towards social media. The kind of messages and comments that she received inspired her to work more on her music. The feeling that her music is bringing joy to people’s lives was fulfilling in itself and pushed her to create music and share it with the world. She is not that fond of social media but believes that it has the potential to build a community to keep her creative energy flowing.
When we asked about her preparation for a performance, Technaari said that she had a ritual to follow before her every performance. She makes sure that she gets proper sleep a day before as she believes in the power of a relaxed mind and soul, this helps her to give the best performance for the audience. She also abstains from listening to Techno music 24 hours before the show and this helps her approach music with a fresh and clear perspective! After this, she tunes her set properly and spends a minimum of 24 hours before the final performance where she crafts and refines her music. This process helps her to delve into each track and bring perfection to every detail. Technaari is an artist who won’t leave any stone unturned to ensure that every beat and melody resonates with the flow of the set. Not just this, she also has her rule of not using the same track or song for the next 30 days. This practice challenges her to keep curating new sounds and ideas regularly. It’s like committing to the growth and innovation eventually pushing her to widen her musical boundaries with her each performance.
Talking about the future of Techno music, Technaari shared that the genre is booming now as compared to a time when these sounds were confined to one niche and weren’t known much, also remained within a small gathering or community. It had it’s underground following but that was also not much recognised. Speaking about the current times, Technaari mentioned that it has now become popular, being one of the most loved musical styles in India and abroad.
Technaari mentioned to the Oslava team that she is currently working on her EP which is a journey in itself. She is selective and hesitant to share her work on social media and this makes the process a bit challenging for her. Now, after 3.5 years of work and exploration, she is finally ready to launch her first EP in September 2024, a project of passion and dedication that she is looking forward to sharing with the world.
Technaari’s wise words for the aspiring artists of the electronic music scene is that one shouldn’t underestimate the power of continuous learning! “Remember, it’s not just about reaching your goals, but also about embracing the journey along the way.” She believes in the fact that there is no alternative to hard work and success demands pure dedication. One should focus on one thing at a time, giving it complete attention and energy. For Technaari, creativity is something that thrives when it is given it’s amount of time and space to come out naturally, so it makes no sense to rush but wait patiently for it to bloom fresh and make an impact. The focus shouldn’t be on competing with their contemporaries as everybody has their journeys and goals to pursue. There should be a sense of acknowledgment and support for them. One doesn’t have to doubt in their potential as one possesses capabilities more than one knows, so self-doubt shouldn’t be given any room to live.