JOIN USNucleya on tour for new album launch
Mumbai Dance, Bhayanak Atma, Jungle Raj - these are tracks which are staples in any EDM playlist or dance party. Udyan Sagar, better known by his stage name Nucleya, is an electronic music producer. His unique usage of Indian street sounds combined with kitsch, bass-heavy sound results in an interesting musical combination.
He recently performed at Phoenix MarketCity as part of the Sunburn Arena Tour for his new album ‘Tota Myna’.
Rajitha Menon finds out more about the man when he is not behind the console.
Tell us a bit about your new album ‘Tota Myna’?
My new album is a mix of a lot of collaborations. I worked with hip-hop star Raftaar, as well as prominent indie artists such as Rashmeet Kaur, Avneet Kurmi and Vibha Saraf. I have even made a song with Shruti Haasan. In about a month’s time, all the songs from the album will be out.
How are these songs different from your previous tracks?
As time passes by, we become more mature. I feel I have become better as a musician. I think about melodies more than I used to. So one main thing which differentiates this album from the previous ones is that it revolves around love songs. And I feel it has a different sort of energy; it is more in the space of sing-along songs. I feel it is film-friendly as well.
Why the name ‘Nucleya’?
I wish I had an interesting story to say. The truth is I couldn’t think of a name. Nucleya was my email password back in the days and at that time I thought it was really cool. And now I am stuck with it (laughs).
What is the process of creating a song like for you?
It differs from song to song. I feel that everything comes from some sort of an emotion. If I am listening to western classical music and I get an idea, a melody hook, then I will instantly record it on my phone. Then I will import it on to my computer and start designing the rest of the song. I just need to have the melody of the song in place- I should be able to play the whole thing on the piano first. What sort of base line, kick or beat I give it depends on where I want the song to go.
What part of the process excites you the most?
The melody is what I look at and then the production. For example, I recently put out this Punjabi love song called ‘Sonia’. The way it starts seems like a movie song. The latter part of the song makes it seem like it was made for the radio and it ends up being a dance track. Putting these different music blocks together excites me. The difficult part is putting them together to make one huge block of seamless music.
What songs do you listen to in your spare time?
Western classical, Middle Eastern, South Indian, Old Hindi music or anything in the middle which sounds interesting. I don’t listen to EDM at all.
Why this fascination with Indian sounds?
It’s entirely my perspective as an Indian. Nothing comes from an EDM perspective, that’s not what I grew up listening to.
What did you grow up listening to?
Old Hindi songs by Kalyanji Anandji and Laxmikant Pyarelal, Indian classical music, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan saheb, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan saheb. That’s the musical language that I speak. I make English songs because it is a forceful compulsion.
Are you looking at any Bengaluru artistes for collabs?
I am open-minded. I have been playing a lot of music on my BBC radio show. There are a bunch of interesting musicians out there but the problem is that they think I make only EDM music. So beyond just saying that ‘I would like to work with you’, I have to first convince them that I do different stuff. I would like to work with different artistes. For example Baiju Dharmarajan, who plays guitar in a Carnatic style that I really love.