He began his tryst with DJing at the age of 16, and there’s been no looking back for Anish Sood since,. He has gone on to perform at some of the biggest EDM events, with some of the biggest names in the industry. Having played at the Sunburn Festival in Goa and the Invasion Festival in Pune and Bangalore, the EDM producer and DJ has performed alongside artistes like Gareth Emery, Laidback Luke, Felix Da Housecat and also David Guetta. In the city for a performance, Anish talks about what works best for the Hyderabadi crowd and his journey so far.
“I’ve performed in Hyderabad several times before and each time it’s been great. This time I had a lot of new music to play for the city party goers apart from some unreleased music as well. Given the large crowd we had, I tried to keep it a little crowd friendly. People here really know what kind of music they like. Hyderabad has a very strong clubbing culture and there are distinctly two types of people here – those who like underground music and techno and others who like commercial music as well. It’s a good balance of the two,” he says.
With his dad and uncle both being jazz guitarists and being raised in a house with a lot of music, Anish’s love for the art form came naturally. “I had a large collection of music and also I grew up with a lot of music around the house. I eventually wanted to start playing that music for others and I guess that eventually led to my DJing,” says Anish, adding that the crowd response has kept him hooked all these years. “I travel to a new city almost everyday. I love how each crowd responds to my music; it’s always great to walk into a room and put a smile on the faces of strangers.”
He does admit though that all the travelling can be challenging at times. “I won’t deny that it is challenging but then when you love what you do it doesn’t really feel like work. Plus I manage my time well and set aside some time every week to work out and eat healthy. That makes it easier to handle the schedule,” he says, adding that since he plays so much music, he likes to stay disconnected when he’s not working or travelling. “Currently though I do enjoy listening to music by Maceo PLex, Porter Robinson and Joseph Capriati. My tastes keep changing every week, since I’m exposed to so much music,” he says.
His gigs apart, Anish has his hands full with some projects close to his heart. “I’ve got a new club show concept that I want to work on this year. It will be a branded Anish Sood show. Also I plan to release some new tracks this year as well; so that is exciting,” says the self-taught musician.
