<p class="bodytext">Tarang Joseph was only 14 when he bagged his first gig in Bengaluru. It was back in 2014 at a popular live music venue that has since closed. Joseph quickly began garnering praise for his technical chops, and was labelled a prodigy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Having been swept into the larger indie music scene at a young age, he found himself constantly influenced by what surrounded him. He began hopping across genres in a bid to find his sound. In 2016, he released the viral EDM track ‘Sunset runaway’ in collaboration with Astra and admits that it is still, “frustratingly”, his most-streamed song. He also explored rock, pop, and jazz along the way.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Now 26, Joseph says a significant part of his recent journey has been about unlearning. He realised that making complex music simply to impress industry professionals meant sacrificing his own artistic integrity. As he puts it, technical skill is like “swinging a sharpened sword”, but to be a truly great artiste, one needs enriching life experiences to draw inspiration from.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With the upcoming release of his debut album, tentatively titled ‘Life in Technicolor’, Joseph believes he is finally stepping into “serious artistry”.</p>.<p class="bodytext">His songwriting process often begins with a morning journalling session, after which he moves to the piano. His new work draws on “nostalgia, things left unsaid, heartbreak, and other personal struggles”. For him, a great song should be seamless, “where the words sound like the music, and the music sounds like the words (sic).”</p>.<p class="bodytext">He has crafted what he calls a “future-leaning” sound, blending R&B/soul with funk. This <br />is evident in the bright grooves of his first EP, ‘Liquid Sunshine’, and the nu jazz and disco-funk influences in his latest single, ‘One track mind’. The latter serves as a personal anthem about taking control and unapologetically choosing his <br />own path.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A trained vocalist and pianist, Joseph was certain about pursuing music right after graduating from high school. He admits that getting a foot in the door often comes down to luck. He feels fortunate to have roots in Bengaluru and a friend who’s an audio engineer working with ‘Big Dawgs’ rapper Hanumankind. These factors, he says, put him in the right circles early on.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Today, he performs around 15 shows a month and is a popular name in the city’s live music circuit.</p>
<p class="bodytext">Tarang Joseph was only 14 when he bagged his first gig in Bengaluru. It was back in 2014 at a popular live music venue that has since closed. Joseph quickly began garnering praise for his technical chops, and was labelled a prodigy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Having been swept into the larger indie music scene at a young age, he found himself constantly influenced by what surrounded him. He began hopping across genres in a bid to find his sound. In 2016, he released the viral EDM track ‘Sunset runaway’ in collaboration with Astra and admits that it is still, “frustratingly”, his most-streamed song. He also explored rock, pop, and jazz along the way.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Now 26, Joseph says a significant part of his recent journey has been about unlearning. He realised that making complex music simply to impress industry professionals meant sacrificing his own artistic integrity. As he puts it, technical skill is like “swinging a sharpened sword”, but to be a truly great artiste, one needs enriching life experiences to draw inspiration from.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With the upcoming release of his debut album, tentatively titled ‘Life in Technicolor’, Joseph believes he is finally stepping into “serious artistry”.</p>.<p class="bodytext">His songwriting process often begins with a morning journalling session, after which he moves to the piano. His new work draws on “nostalgia, things left unsaid, heartbreak, and other personal struggles”. For him, a great song should be seamless, “where the words sound like the music, and the music sounds like the words (sic).”</p>.<p class="bodytext">He has crafted what he calls a “future-leaning” sound, blending R&B/soul with funk. This <br />is evident in the bright grooves of his first EP, ‘Liquid Sunshine’, and the nu jazz and disco-funk influences in his latest single, ‘One track mind’. The latter serves as a personal anthem about taking control and unapologetically choosing his <br />own path.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A trained vocalist and pianist, Joseph was certain about pursuing music right after graduating from high school. He admits that getting a foot in the door often comes down to luck. He feels fortunate to have roots in Bengaluru and a friend who’s an audio engineer working with ‘Big Dawgs’ rapper Hanumankind. These factors, he says, put him in the right circles early on.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Today, he performs around 15 shows a month and is a popular name in the city’s live music circuit.</p>