<p>Musician Rumit Virmani, who is the brain behind ‘Kampai’, a music project that exposes people to electronic bass sounds, is a common sight for music lovers in Bengaluru. A regular at Church Street Social, he primarily focusses on future bass and trap music.<br /><br /></p>.<p> With ‘Kampai’, Rumit blurs the lines between genres such as twerk and DnB. In a chat with Ananya Revanna, the youngster talks about his love for music and how he has grown as a DJ. <br /><br />Tell us about your passion for bass music. <br />When I was in school, I liked rock and metal music. In college, I came across the conventional styles of EDM like progressive house and live, festival sounds. But I grew out of that and began listening to a lot of bass music. It’s a bit unconventional but I think it is the future of EDM. <br /><br />What about bass music do you like?<br />I can’t put it into words but I like it. I suppose it’s the low frequencies; it has that ‘wow’ factor to it. <br /><br />What is ‘Kampai’?<br />It’s a way to create awareness about bass music. I started it a little over a year ago. Before that I was into EDM in general but I took it seriously after this. <br /><br />You’ve proved that anyone can achieve their musical dreams if they work hard...<br />As a self-taught artiste, I’d say that anyone can become a DJ if they work hard. It’s important to watch other musicians at work rather than learning from one teacher. Practical knowledge is always better in this field. I’m not the best DJ or anything like that; I still have a lot to learn, but I’m getting better at it. <br /><br />The biggest lesson you’ve learnt from attending gigs.<br />I love watching people play on a digital vinyl system (DVS). Unlike before, vinyl records are harder to come by and you can’t cart around a box full of them to every gig. With the DVS, there is 1 coded plastic vinyl which reads your laptop but you feel like you are playing a record. This is amazing. <br /><br />One music festival you would love to perform at.<br />Outlook Festival — it’s the only festival for bass music. <br /><br />Biggest goof-up you’ve made on stage.<br />I’m not sure which ones I should talk about... One time, I forgot my cables and headphone jack. I ran around 15 minutes before the gig in search of them. I finally played without headphones, which is difficult, but I knew the software and the colours; I went with it. <br /><br />One thing you’ve learnt from your mistakes.<br />I was performing at the Boom Shankar Festival, where the stage was a Tempo Traveller and I had to play on top of it. When I was done with my set, which went fine, I left my laptop there because my best friend, Ketan Bahirat, was going to perform next. It started drizzling and I thought I’d give him a cover for the keyboard but when I went to the stage, the laptop wasn’t there. I found it on the floor, with a huge dent in it and the screen gone. I learnt never to leave your equipment on stage after a gig; pack it up as soon as you finish. <br /><br />Artistes you would love to share the stage with.<br />San Holo, Rustie, AWE, Hudson Mohawke, Flume, Graves, Alison Wonderland, Pusher, BeauDamian, G Jones, Jai Wolf, M R Carmack and Sam Gellaitry to name a few.</p>
<p>Musician Rumit Virmani, who is the brain behind ‘Kampai’, a music project that exposes people to electronic bass sounds, is a common sight for music lovers in Bengaluru. A regular at Church Street Social, he primarily focusses on future bass and trap music.<br /><br /></p>.<p> With ‘Kampai’, Rumit blurs the lines between genres such as twerk and DnB. In a chat with Ananya Revanna, the youngster talks about his love for music and how he has grown as a DJ. <br /><br />Tell us about your passion for bass music. <br />When I was in school, I liked rock and metal music. In college, I came across the conventional styles of EDM like progressive house and live, festival sounds. But I grew out of that and began listening to a lot of bass music. It’s a bit unconventional but I think it is the future of EDM. <br /><br />What about bass music do you like?<br />I can’t put it into words but I like it. I suppose it’s the low frequencies; it has that ‘wow’ factor to it. <br /><br />What is ‘Kampai’?<br />It’s a way to create awareness about bass music. I started it a little over a year ago. Before that I was into EDM in general but I took it seriously after this. <br /><br />You’ve proved that anyone can achieve their musical dreams if they work hard...<br />As a self-taught artiste, I’d say that anyone can become a DJ if they work hard. It’s important to watch other musicians at work rather than learning from one teacher. Practical knowledge is always better in this field. I’m not the best DJ or anything like that; I still have a lot to learn, but I’m getting better at it. <br /><br />The biggest lesson you’ve learnt from attending gigs.<br />I love watching people play on a digital vinyl system (DVS). Unlike before, vinyl records are harder to come by and you can’t cart around a box full of them to every gig. With the DVS, there is 1 coded plastic vinyl which reads your laptop but you feel like you are playing a record. This is amazing. <br /><br />One music festival you would love to perform at.<br />Outlook Festival — it’s the only festival for bass music. <br /><br />Biggest goof-up you’ve made on stage.<br />I’m not sure which ones I should talk about... One time, I forgot my cables and headphone jack. I ran around 15 minutes before the gig in search of them. I finally played without headphones, which is difficult, but I knew the software and the colours; I went with it. <br /><br />One thing you’ve learnt from your mistakes.<br />I was performing at the Boom Shankar Festival, where the stage was a Tempo Traveller and I had to play on top of it. When I was done with my set, which went fine, I left my laptop there because my best friend, Ketan Bahirat, was going to perform next. It started drizzling and I thought I’d give him a cover for the keyboard but when I went to the stage, the laptop wasn’t there. I found it on the floor, with a huge dent in it and the screen gone. I learnt never to leave your equipment on stage after a gig; pack it up as soon as you finish. <br /><br />Artistes you would love to share the stage with.<br />San Holo, Rustie, AWE, Hudson Mohawke, Flume, Graves, Alison Wonderland, Pusher, BeauDamian, G Jones, Jai Wolf, M R Carmack and Sam Gellaitry to name a few.</p>
