Let your hair down and groove to some heavy bass this weekend with two of India’s biggest bass music producers bringing the house down. Hosted by Zee Live's new property Baleno Wicked Weekends, artistes MojoJojo and Gurbax promise to hit some deep vibes with Bengaluru at Sanctum on April 29.
Akshay aka MojoJojo says Bengaluru’s fans will be the first to experience unreleased music from his latest EP that he launches in July. “Bengaluru bass heads will get to hear some of that apart from my other hits. My set is a blend of very different sounds. It is a bit of a journey. I have a signature style of blending very anthemic folk and Indian sounds with contemporary electronic music. At the end of it, I want people to realise that there’s nothing like my music out there.”
Recalling how he got the name, Akshay says: “Jojo was my nickname all through school. Before my first gig, three-four years ago, I had to come up with a moniker. I was young and impressionable and thought of adding some mojo to my jojo. Little did I know that one decision will have such far-reaching consequences,” he laughs.
An ambitious music producer, Akshay says he often feels what he’s done so far is insignificant and there’s so much more to do. “But I also realise that I need to be happy and grateful for the fact that a lot of things fell into place for me to be where I am now. I’m still overambitious though. There’s so much out there I need to achieve.
Always driven by an underlying emotion, Akshay packs very honest music at the heart of his tracks. His latest album Shots Fired put him on the map and garnered a nomination for the GIMA Award under ‘Best Electronica Song’ for his song ‘STORM’. Akshay claims to have performed 100 shows in 2015 and is looking to conquer the Indian bass music scene with his own breed of crossover music.
His agenda in the future, the artiste says, “Is to create a fervent fan base. The goal for the next five years is to be as far-reaching as possible and establish myself in a space where I can bring together people and make my music accessible to everyone. The aspirational audiences we have now who want to listen to fresh content give a lot of room for independent artistes like me to grow. I hope to be playing 50,000 shows every year soon!”
Kunaal Gurbaxani aka Gurbax who has extensively toured India and known for curating an entire crowd-funded art festival is equally thrilled to be performing on his home turf. “My first gig was in Sanctum in 2014 so it’s a homecoming for me. “On the cards are a lot of unreleased tracks that I will be playing for the first time here – all from my upcoming debut EP scheduled for release in the next couple of months. The style of music I play is fresh and different from the notion of electronic music people have today. It encompasses a variety of genres and draws from a range of eras. It’s going to be a great show!” he affirms.
A firm believer in making an impact, Kunaal says: “I like to break down the barriers in people’s heads about what electronic music is and what DJs do. A lot of people have a close-minded approach to what electronic music is. Until someone broke it down for me, I didn’t know it myself. The effect was liberating. If there’s one thing I could do, it would be to break down the shackles, expose people to something different and have them enjoy it.” Commenting on the scene, Kunaal says there isn’t a better time in the history of the country for independent musicians. “There are so many platforms and opportunities. The barriers to entry have definitely reduced and festivals and venues are pushing the scene. Obviously, there’s a long way to go in comparison with the rest of the world. But it’s definitely good times.”
Kunaal hopes the year ahead will mark new milestones for him. “The debut EP is a huge step forward and I hope to expand to a lot of different genres. I will also tour India and abroad. There’s not much more I can ask for beyond that.”
Looking ahead, Kunaal emphasises that he wants to impact as many people as possible. “I want to impose onto them what has been imposed on me. I wake up every day and I’m living my dream. It is a dream to be living your dream. So I’m just thankful I can do this on a daily basis. Although I have huge goals, just to spend every day devoting hours to making music and having full control of my life – that’s the biggest gift I could ever ask for.”
Catch MojoJojo and Gurbax live at Baleno Wicked Weekends at Sanctum on April 29. Call 18002006392 toll-free.
ON THE SIDELINES
Get schooled
The Moksha Academy present an evening of pop, retro and rock by the school that specialises in music instruction with customised lessons.
WHERE: blueFROG, Church Street
WHEN: April 28
TIME: 9 pm onwards
Sound travel
Go Back to The Future feat DJ Ivan and Shiva Manvi, two of Bengaluru’s biggest EDM hitters in a show of house dance music frenzy
WHERE: blueFROG, Church Street
WHEN: April 29
TIME: 8 pm onwards
Soulful songs
Kamakshi Khanna brings her soulful voice from reality show ‘The Stage’ and multilingual folk and fusion artiste Shubham Roy to a show of creative songs
WHERE: The Humming Tree, Indiranagar
WHEN: April 28
TIME: 9 pm onwards
CALL: 9886618386
Aqua ties
Akshay Rajpurohit aka Aqua Dominatrix from Mumbai brings his free-floating synthpop with energetic new sounds to Bengaluru this weekend
WHERE: Koramangala Social
WHEN: April 29
TIME: 9 pm onwards
CALL: 9108006821
Rock poetry
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Suraj Mani brings his band Suraj Mani & The Tattva Trip on a rock poetry journey with an early set by Shubham Roy
WHERE: bFlat, Indiranagar
WHEN: April 29
TIME: 9 pm onwards
CALL: 25278361
Sonic stories
Music storytellers, Groovemeister, bring their four-piece set up to tell stories through contemporary rhythms, laced with influences of modern jazz, blues, funk and soul with an early set by Mana and Ramanan
WHERE: bFlat, Indiranagar
WHEN: April 28
TIME: 9 pm onwards
CALL: 41739250
