THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Although known as the spearhead for bass music in India, Nucleya says he finds the label inhibiting. “I am known as a bass producer, but I find the bass tag to be quite limiting and just an easy way for people to box me in,” says the Goa-based musician. His third album, Tota Myna, intentionally blurs the lines between pop and bass music. We speak to him before he tours the country with this new album:
Tell us about the new album.
Tota Myna is the next full length album after Raja Baja, which was released two years ago. We have launched a few singles and film tracks in between, but this is a full blown project. When I was thinking about making this album, I listened to a lot of pop music. A lot of people shy away from pop music, because they don’t consider it cool or whatever, but for me that is a very close minded view. It’s called pop music, because it is popular and it has a wider reach than niche forms of music. This fusing of genres also extends to the guests we have on the album, who are not just singers but also producers and instrumentalists as well.
What kind of work has gone into the album?
Like I said earlier, this album is a composition of a long-standing idea that I had envisioned through my style of bass, reggae, and dance music; along with my newfound love for experimental sounds of pop. My mother called Smriti (wife) and me ‘tota myna’ when we were younger; we were the inseparable love birds and that’s pretty much where the album name came from.
The album art on the other hand is inspired by the love birds seen on the trucks in India.
Are there any collaborations?
There’s a mixture of different collaborators on this album. The tracks include collaborations with really well known A-list names like Raftaar and Shruti Hassan, but I also worked with long-term collaborators like Avneet Khurmi and Vibha Saraf. It’s just really about who can add value to the song or the hook or the melody that I have in mind. I kind of just go from there. I’m not too hung up on whether they are a big name or not. For me, it’s all about the music.
You’ve recently shifted base to Goa. Why did you make that decision and how has it been?
Goa is a super calm city. Delhi on the other hand, has this crazy manic energy which is pretty much the soul of the city. Though, it can really get to you after a while. The primary decision to move out of Delhi was because of my son, Guri, who started developing asthma and falling really ill due to the extreme levels of pollution in Delhi. And apart from that, Smriti and I quite enjoy the slower pace of life down in Goa.
What do you think of the electronic music scene in India right now? What are the upcoming trends?
The electronic music scene in India has drastically evolved over the last couple of years. From existing in niche vacuums to taking centrestage at ‘EDM’ festivals like Supersonic, Sunburn and many more; you can see that the electronic music market is constantly bubbling and blending with different genres and pushing boundaries between what works with the mainstream Indian audience and their own vision of electronic music; thus creating a new culture of its own.
Nucleya's show will be held on December 22 at Bolgatty Palace, Kochi. Ticket Rate: `500 and above