JOIN USDJ combines sounds of Atlanta and Bengaluru
When Kunaal Gurbaxani aka GURBAX was in 10th standard, he spent more time playing the guitar than studying for his board exams.
Today, he is one of the known DJ/producer in the Indian electronic music scene. He has played at almost every major Indian music festival stage and toured internationally.
After hit releases like ‘Boom Shankar’ and ‘Aghori’, his latest track ‘Dirty South’ sees the 28-year-old collaborating with California-based world/experimental music act, Beats Antique, for the very first time.
He chats with Metrolife about his latest project.
What’s your new release ‘Dirty South’ about?
A constant theme in my music has been to attempt a perfect intersection between the two cultures that have impacted my life the most — Indian and American.
Growing up in both places meant my music had undeniably become this mutant love-child of the East and the West. However, up until this point, I had never actually attempted to combine the cultures of the specific cities that influenced me the most, namely — Bengaluru and Atlanta.
‘Dirty South’ attempts to do just that. It draws inspiration from the instrumentation, rhythms and musical motifs that are signature to both cities — coincidentally, both situated in the South of their respective countries — and combining them in a way that’s totally refreshing and unique.
How has Bengaluru influenced your music?
My earliest memories of diving deep into music were as a metal fanatic and that definitely was a by-product of living in here. The thriving metal culture in the city at the time was the first ‘sub-culture’ I truly felt like a part of and it definitely sowed the seeds for the intense love I’d develop for music in the subsequent years. Later down the line, I started incorporating the sounds of the South subtly in my music.
Another achievement of yours has been lending your name to the Canadian festival. To those who don’t know what does that actually mean?
5x Fest is a festival based in Vancouver that promotes South Asian culture run by some really good people whom I’ve become friends with over the years. I flew into Canada last year to play it, however, this year, due to the pandemic they’re going digital. Nevertheless, I’ve recorded an extremely special set for this year, which was shot at an iconic location here in Bengaluru and will be sharing details on it very soon.
Tell us three things about you that many don’t know.
I’ve studied in seven different schools as a kid. I have an industrial engineering degree from Georgia Tech and the only course I failed in my four-year stint at engineering college was music… I got caught cheating! And the last one, I vividly remember this moment on a Saturday night very early on in my career, when I was at this venue in Bengaluru that I really wanted to be booked to play at. In the middle of the gig, I ended up crying in the audience just cause I wanted to be on stage so bad and not on the dancefloor! The girl I was with at the time, left the venue utterly confused.
You seem to be quite busy even during the lockdown. What are you doing to keep yourself positive at this time, apart from music?
Definitely exercise. I try to get a workout at least every other day. Also, I really enjoy listening to podcasts — I highly recommend ‘Groupchat’, ‘Startup’ and of course, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’.