Bacardi NH7 Weekender will kickstart tomorrow. Aditya Ashok (OX7GEN) and Udayan Sagar (Duke Nucleya) speak to S Mallik about introducing new concepts to their performances
What is OX7GEN all aboutIJ
I have been making music as OX7GEN for about three years now. It’s been a process of trial and error. It’s been slow but in-depth. Being a stage musician first, I always wanted to have a live project where I have creative control over the music and aesthetics of the project. I did a smaller version of OX7GEN live last year as a part of KRUNK All Stars and received positive reviews. I figured it was high time I gave OX7GEN live a shot on a bigger scale. Putting together the musicians on OX7GEN live has been fun. There are some great musicians in the city that I love working with and each has his own sound and approach. So it was just a matter of figuring out who would fit in terms of sound and energy that I wanted for this project. With OX7GEN live album, I have tried for the first time to write lyrics and work with vocalists. I have been afraid of this before but I figured the best way to learn would be to do it. I have learnt a good amount and I am really excited to apply everything I have learnt to my future releases. OX7GEN was born out of necessity. I needed a name for my music. I had once undergone six hours of tattoo sessions and in the fourth hour I realised that it was only when I breathed that I felt no pain. And this thought randomly popped into my head when I was trying to figure out a name for myself. I threw that 7 in so it would be easier to find domain spaces.
Tell us something about Dimensions, your new EP.
Dimensions is a collection of five songs that I started writing about a year ago. Each song started out as something completely different from what it is now.
You started off as a drummer. How did you foray into the world of electronic musicIJ
I have always been into electronic music. I listened to Darude and Engima when I was 12, and a bit of progressive house when I was 16. But my love for drum and bass started in 2008 when my friend and agent Sohail Arora introduced me to london Elektricity, one of the pioneers of liquid drum and bass. I have been obsessed ever since.
What are the instruments that you work withIJ
For the live band I have two guitar players, a bass player, a keyboard player and I play the drums. But I do use a lot of strings and electric pianos when I am writing.
How challenging and unique is it to play drum and bass with a live bandIJ
It’s been quite a challenge. I genuinely didn’t think we could pull off what I had initially conceptualised. I was expecting technical issues at every stage but luckily I had a great team to work with.
You are a part of bands like Shaa’ir+Func and The Colour Compound...
Playing in Shaa’ir+Func has been quite a learning experience. Randolph is a great producer and I have learnt a lot of invaluable things about recreating electronic music by playing with them. The Colour Compound hasn’t particularly been influential to the kind of music I make but they are all musicians who have become an integral part of OX7GEN live.
You began your musical journey in the 1990s with the Bandish Projekt. Now you are a one man army called Nucleya. How has the journey beenIJ
The journey has been extremely long and eventful. It is not possible to sum it up in a few lines. But what I can share for sure that it has been a great learning experience for me. Each collaboration has taught me a lot. Whatever and whoever I am today is because of that.
How do you think has the dubstep/bass scene evolved from Bandish Projekt to Nucleya in IndiaIJ
Back in the days it was more into jungle, drum and bass and other forms of electronic music. Now it doesn’t matter if you play drum and bass or hip hop. People don’t care what genre you play, they want to listen to good music. Interestingly, now people are experimenting so much with music that they do not care about specific genres.
Tell us something about Duke Nucleya. How did you take inspiration from a video game and turn it into something musicalIJ
I am a huge fan of the Duke Nukem series; it is one of the few games that left a lasting impression on me. The classic first-person shooter, which is considered to be one of the most important video-games of all time, was one of the first titles to incorporate graphic violence and erotica within its storyline. The concept for a show inspired by the series first came up during a conversation I had with Scribe’s Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy and my manager Tej. We were hanging out after a gig and talking about our love for various video games. Somehow, that conversation developed into this idea and we thought it would be great to put something like this out there.
I wanted to create an immersive and fun experience for the audience — one that would go beyond your run-of-the-mill electronic music show.
What’s new about your latest albumIJ
My next album is a collaborative project. Each track will feature an artist like Joshua Dmello (from Wolves), General Zooz (from Reggae Rajahs), Alo Wala and many others. I want to make my signature sound a bit more global with my next album.
You have collaborated with artists from different parts of the country. Was language ever a barrierIJ
Surprisingly, language has never been the barrier. When I collaborated with Chinna Ponnu (folk playback singer form Tamil Nadu) I was just humming to her the melodies and she wrote lyrics. I had no idea how and when she did it but we ended up making some cool songs.