'I actually have a terrible memory'

Spin master

Kunaal Gurbaxani aka Gurbax’s journey started in Bengaluru, where he played guitar in punk rock and thrash metal bands. It continued to Atlanta, where he discovered a love for bass music. Now, a self-taught DJ and Ableton-certified producer from Dubspot School of Music Production in New York, he has played in shows all around the globe and had also curated India’s first fully crowd-funded festival — the ‘Boom Shankar Festival’.  Having recently performed at ‘Baleno Wicked Weekends’, Gurbax chats with Rajitha Menon.

How would you describe your music?
It’s quite eclectic. I suppose it can be called electronic music but the only thing electronic about it is that it is made on a computer. It changes everyday — one day  it is Indian-inspired, then  punk rock-inspired and so on.

So what do you listen to in your spare time?
Totally depends on my mood. Smooth jazz eases my mind. If I am partying, then it will be a completely different kind of music.

Thoughts about Indian music?
I am always inspired by the great melodies in this genre and I have incorporated Indian music in my tracks, like the sounds of the Sarangi. But I feel it is not the genre but the feeling behind the music that matters.

A memorable incident...
Recently, one of my tracks was picked up for Danish Sait’s upcoming movie ‘Humble Politician Nograj’. I never dreamt that a track with zero Indian influences will pop up in an English Kannada film.  I am super excited about it.

Crazy fan reactions?
(Thinks) I am not able to pinpoint one. I actually have a terrible memory; I think it is because I am so living in the present. And that is a boon and a bane, I can’t remember the good or the bad things.

Still, there must be something...
Oh yeah, so I was playing at a venue in Bengaluru and a guy kept trying to come close to me and talk. I don’t like to talk while I am playing since I can miss out on something. At the end of the set, I noticed that he had slipped something under my DJ console. It was a Rs 500 note with a paper that said ‘Can you please play some Bollywood’. I burst out laughing.

One thing you wish people would understand about this industry?
There are many opportunities for artistes nowadays but I wish people would understand that it is still extremely tough for musicians to sustain themselves. So people should support local artistes, both online and offline.