MUMBAI: Sahej Bakshi, aka Dualist Inquiry, reached a little closer to his dream festival ‘Tomorrowland’ when he got to host a show for MTV Indies. He hopes to perform at the prestigious festival one day, but until then he continues doing what he loves; creating and playing music.
In a conversation with Radioandmusic.com’s Jescilia Karayamparambil, Bakshi spoke about his EP, upcoming festivals and more.
How did the journey for your new EP start?
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This is the first EP that I have done after ‘Doppelganger’. After the album, I had to think of what kind of music I wanted to make. It was an interesting kind of crossroads I reached after doing the album.
It has been over a year now since my last album, and I have been working on the EP for the past five-six months. This is the natural progression for me from ‘Doppelganger’. This is where I am at with my music, right now. In many ways, I am the last person to comment on the sound as I am the one who made it. I hope people like it and I am very excited to get it out.
Have you collaborated with any artistes for the EP?
There are no collaborations on this one. We will be releasing one of the songs by first of September. Then after a week, on 8 September, I will reveal the rest of the EP which contains four songs. The names of the songs are ‘Departure’, ‘Landslide’, ‘Come on’ and ‘Archman’.
Why the title ‘Natural Disaster’?
‘Natural Disaster’ refers to an internal battle; that is all that I can say about the EP. At some level, I name it whatever I feel like in that moment. I am looking forward to hearing people’s interpretation of the EP once it is out. I like to leave it open-ended. I like choosing names that has several different versions.
Will you be touring India to promote the album?
Yes, I would be playing at Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. There is a possibility of adding an extra day to the tour.
Is the tour in partnership with anyone?
I am releasing the EP through my own record label ‘Dualism Records’ and it will be available as a free download from my website. This is the same way I released ‘Doppelganger’.
Will you extend ‘Dualism Records’ to other artistes?
We can extend my label to other artistes at any point of time. That will only happen once we are ready to push music by other artistes. Then we will really go ahead with it. On the record front, there will be a few compilations of Indian independent music like the one we did early this year.
Which festivals are you performing at?
I will be playing at NH7 Weekender in Delhi and Bangalore, and then at Sunburn Delhi. There are other festivals that I will perform at as well, but it is too early to talk about it.
In the first half of next year, I am hoping to go on tour in the US. That is part of the plan.
Which country do you get most of your downloads from?
Fortunately, my music has been received very well, but the volume and the number of people, who have given me positive responses in India, is much higher than what I have received from other countries. It is safe to say that I have received good response in terms of volume from India.
Which places and festivals would you like to play at?
I would say Unites States, Germany and Belgium are the places that I would like to play at. My dream festivals are Coachella and Tomorrowland.
You recently travelled to Tomorrowland for MTV Indies. Tell us more about it.
This is first time I went to Tomorrowland. I usually go for various festivals every year and it was the first time I attended this festival. I went to shoot a documentary for MTV Indies. And we shot a feature that will air on MTV Indies in the coming weeks. The feature is about a trip to Belgium and our trip to Tomorrowland. I am the anchor of the show, and it follows me and Jose Covaco (MTV VJ/ RJ).
How was it watching Tomorrowland festival live?
It was mind blowing. It is a really special festival as there is large representation from all over the world. There is a huge crowd, everyone is friendly and there is really high energy music. It is one of the biggest festivals that I have ever been to.
Going back to the documentary, tell me more about it?
The show covers four cities of Belgium and Tomorrowland was in one of those places. You will see us visiting places like Brussels, Bruges and Antwerpen. There is a part where you will see us eat some amazing food and try Belgium Chocolate and meet the locals.
At Tomorrowland, we interviewed major artistes like Steve Aoki, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. You will see us interviewing Indian people at Tomorrowland.
Will you try anchoring or hosting a show again?
It is whole different thing. And I am not looking at it as career. If there is something fun that comes up then I will pick it up. I am always a musician and I will continue being that.
What is your plan for next year?
So far, I have been performing and producing music which has taken the most of my time. I think I will focus on putting out more music for next few years. In 2015, there might be a remix, single and then an album.
