'There is inspiration and emotion all around us'

Hip hop group SIXK creates music that is a unique blend of neo-soul, funk and hip hop

Mumbai-based artist’s collective SIXK aims to find a balance between the purist’s perception of music and the perversion of sound to create genre-bending tracks. It comprises Viraj Chheda (producer/arranger), Hari Pilaka (producer/vocalist/lyricist), Nihal Shetty (producer/vocalist/lyricist), Gisho Ghajbiye (producer/drummer), Rae Mulla (vocalist/lyricist) and Siddhant Patra (drums) and they also collaborate with multiple artistes for their tracks.

The group talks about a variety of topics in their tracks, including empowerment, soul searching, the monotony of a routine job and how to deal with sadness and depression.

The collective launched their track Dansa recently, as a part of Artist Originals (AO), JioSaavn’s in-house label. The fusion hip-hop track is a combination of groovy beats, poetic lyrics and some funky dance moves.

Metrolife finds out more about their musical journey and challenges.

How did the group come into existence?

Fresh off ‘The Stage’ on Colors Infinity, Nihal was looking for producers to collaborate with. His search led him to Viraj, who was working with Hari on an album at that time. Viraj called Nihal over to talk and a quick jamming session, which led to an impromptu song. Hari heard that track the next day and the three of us decided to meet and jam more often in Viraj’s room. Those random jams turned into more serious ventures and we realised we might be onto something and decided to bring in Gisho. Along the years, we met Kaustubh (rapper), Rae (rapper) and Siddhant (drummer). Each of them came over and started jamming and have been family ever since. That’s how SIXK came into existence.

How would you describe your sound to a layman?

Honestly, we wouldn’t. We hate explaining the kind of music we make because we genuinely are not bound by genre (as is evident from our four releases so far) and couldn’t care less about it. So we’d rather have them listen and make up their own minds and definitions. But if we absolutely had to, it’d probably be “an experimental mesh of genres, layered with rap and singing vocals, with hip hop, funk and pop undertones.”

Where do you look for inspiration for the themes of your songs?

Everywhere; there is inspiration and emotion all around us. We write about everything such as our personal lives, politics, social issues, fantasy, imagination, fun, party, sex, new perspectives and so on — through our individual points of view of course.

A common misconception that people have about your collective...

There aren’t many but the main one has to be the pronunciation of the word ‘SIXK’, which is pronounced as ‘Sick’. Most people think it’s pronounced as ‘Six-k’ and assume that it’s because we have six members currently, which is definitely not the case.

Have you ever performed in Bengaluru?

No, we haven’t performed in the city till now. But we’re super excited about taking our act live and Bengaluru is definitely one of the top destinations within the country. It is a live music hub, especially for English music, and we would love to tear it up there.