There’s little doubt that in this time of electronica boom, DJs are the busiest lot, jetting around the country (and sometimes, globe), filling up clubs with dance floor burners.
Delhi electronica artist Gaurav Raina has been doing that for a long time, as part of Midival Punditz with his fellow producer Tapan Raj.
More recently, however, Raina has been honing his own skills as a songwriter and solo producer for his electro project GRAIN.
Two years after he kicked off the collaborative project, he’s ready with his first solo album, Grey to Silver .
Raina says about the release, “The album took about two years to make, as I was working on an easy time schedule with it. I was in no rush to finish it and wanted it to evolve organically, at its own pace.”
Grey to Silver has been a bit more stressful, considering the guest list on the album — from sitarist Anoushka Shankar on ‘6 Was 9’ to Karsh Kale on ‘It’s All Right’ and Ankur Tewari on ‘A Distant Rumble’.
Says Raina about collaborations: “The key to any collaborative process is to be able to let the collaborating artists shine through the composition. There was also a fair bit of excitement in combining different musical elements or styles into one composition in a few songs. Getting the artists in the studio was a long drawn out process, as I only worked with them when they were in town or passing through.”
The artist says ‘It’s All Right’ and the title track ‘Grey to Silver’ are those that define the album for him. “My favourite collaboration on the album would be that with Karsh Kale. I’ve learnt a lot about song-writing and music in general, from him. He also happens to be one of my closest friends, so there was a huge level of comfort in working with him,” says Raina.
“The decisions to do these shows live versus a DJ set, is always a quotient of budgets really. I would love to play every show live if I could, and the budgets would allow. However, I also want to promote the Grain DJ set whenever possible, as that’s an integral part of my musical expression also.”
He says in his experience, he’s understood that while audiences love to see a live set with performers jamming with him, DJ sets work just as effectively.
“DJing and playing live are two completely different processes of expression, each of them having their own level of excitement and energy. Sometimes the crowds would rather dance to some banging, high-energy tunes in a DJ set, or enjoy some creative live performances by musicians.”
