MUMBAI: Abhishek Bhatia’s solo project- Curtain Blue, recently landed one of the best promotional gigs an artist could ask for – playing at two different UK festivals. The electronic music producer is scheduled to perform at this year’s The Great Escape Festival (14 May) and Alchemy Festival (20 May), this year.
“This is my first international gig as Curtain Blue and I am really excited because it is a wonderful place. I have checked out the venue and things online. I am also a little nervous since it is a new experience, and I do not know how people there are going to react to the music,” said Bhatia about the Lincolnshire festival.
He revealed that he found out about playing at Alchemy only after the decision was made. “I had given Wild City some of my tracks to see if they fits or not. I found out about the gig when it was ready to be announced,” he said.
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Bhatia, who recently, launched his debut Curtain Blue EP ‘Drones’ said that he will be playing a more “mellow” set at Alchemy, as compared to the sets he has played in India. The reason for this he said is that certain tracks do not work at some venues. “The vibe is different there and I think that makes it a little more open-ended for me to explore. My set at Alchemy will include songs from ‘Drones’, but I will strip them down to a slightly more live version, rather than how it is produced on the CD. I am not sure of it, but I would want to change it up a little,” he added.
Speaking about ‘Drones’, Bhatia revealed that it took him close to a year to select the songs he wanted to put on his debut EP. “By the end of last year’s music season, I was able to choose four songs that I really liked, and I improved on them. Of the four tracks I selected, I already had some draft versions on my SoundCloud page, and the other two were brand new tracks,” he explained.
He also revealed that he is currently working on a video for the track ‘My Obscurity’ from Drones. However, Bhatia did say that it could be a while before the video could be released. Depending on other factors, he could release maybe one more music video.
Bhatia, who is also vocalist for Delhi-based band, The Circus revealed that the band is working on its third album. “We are done with the writing bit. Now we just have to go into the studio and sort the album out and work on the production. Nothing is really decided as yet, but we are hoping to release something before the festival season begins this year,” he added. The album, he said, could have about eight to nine tracks.
When asked if performing as Curtain Blue could make things a little difficult for The Circus, he said that there is no real hassle. “The only issue is that when I am playing as one act, things for the other are put on hold. But that happens on both ends. We try and manage that and maintain our calendars for these kinds of things,” the singer/ songwriter added.
However, he explained that his exposure at the Alchemy Festival could help The Circus as well. “I will tell people about my band there. If someone likes our music and they start following us, we might just get something good out of it. It could help for sure,” Bhatia said.
Later this month Bhatia will embark on his debut EP launch tour starting with Mumbai, after which he will travel to Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Brighton (UK), Southbank (UK), Bristol (UK) and Glasgow (UK), before finally returning to New Delhi at the end of May.
