Remember how we’d tune into the radio? There was no hassle of finding a track because, well, we didn’t have a choice. But that autonomy had us kicking back and letting the music entertain us... just like the upcoming livestream where over 30 of India’s favourite musicians are coming together — with MTV Beats, Vh1 and Facebook — for a full day-and-night.
The 30-plus artistes include Zaeden, Darshan Rawal, Aastha Gill, SICKFLIP, Tony Kakkar, Su Real, Shahid Mallya, Nikita Gandhi, Tulsi Kumar and Amit Mishra — all from different corners of the country with their own take on their passion. We speak to Aastha Gill and Zaeden, who are one of the most talked-about musicians in the country right now.
At just 26, Delhi-born Aastha has been making waves with tracks such as ‘DJ Waley Babu’ and ‘Buzz’ which collectively have about 500 million views across different platforms. But it’s TikTok which caught her eye this year; she released a TikTok exclusive ICC Cricket World Cup anthem ‘Jeetega Saara India.’
Zaeden, whose real name is Sahil Sharma, has made his mark in the Big Room House scene with his remixes of Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber tracks. His repertoire snagged him a deal with Spinnin’ Records, one of the most reputed EDM labels in the industry.
Excerpts from an interview:
Aastha Gill
Will we be seeing a fun remix of TikTok ICC Cricket World Cup anthem ‘Jeetega Saara India?’
Yes definitely! And it’s going to be super fun!
Aastha Gill
You're a big backer of independent music. How would you encourage musicians to embrace this part of the industry with realistic expectations?
I feel, yes. Every aspiring musician in our industry who wants to be a part of independent music scene should be very passionate about it and should not give up cause trust me it’s not easy to break in is difficult you know so I think they should really be passionate and consistent.
Don’t be afraid of your failures because I have been through failures but I never gave up so never give up okay?
You've mentioned the 'party songs singer tag' doesn't affect you. How do you actually plan on celebrating this tag for World Music Day?
Uhh… no. ‘Party songs singer’ tag doesn’t affect me at all and I plan on celebrating this tag for World Music Day with pride on the live session and I think this is going be a fabulous opportunity for me to make people dance to my music.
Zaeden
You have a background in tabla, guitar and piano. How valuable were these instruments in your current career? Will you be experimenting with them for the World Music Day livestream?
Sahil Sharma aka Zaeden
I have been exposed to all kinds of music ever since I was a kid which led to me being super inquisitive about learning new instruments. It has definitely helped me understand arrangements and instrumentations of a track and how layers of each add a touch to a piece of music.
However, my first obsession was pop and electronic music and these are what I will be playing on the World Music Day livestream.
In which ways are livestreams differ from a live experience like a concert or a music festival for you?
Live experiences are undoubtedly the real deal. Not only are the ambience and the energy overwhelming but seeing thousands of happy faces dancing and singing in unison which make it all worthwhile
The World Music Day livestream is ongoing, will kick off at midnight June 21(tonight). You can find the livestreams on Vh1’s and MTV Beat’s Facebook pages.
