India’s thriving electronic music community has proven to be an absolute goldmine for listeners, which continues to push forward so many exciting talents who go on to blow us out of the water with their excellent creations. And come today, we have gotten our hands on Bengaluru-based duo Argenil‘s debut EP, ‘She Did It!‘. An impressive 5-track effort which covers everything from Hindustani classical to reggae to trap to dubstep to hip hop and even folk music, the rising duo comprising of Anil Prasad and Rohit Gandhi introduce listeners to their exotic and cutting edge brand of music, which they also refer to as ‘Hindustani Trap‘.
From using the nadaswaram, violins, flutes, table, Ravanhattha and even thavil, this rollercoaster of a sonic ride also boasts of contributions by the likes of upcoming American rapper Eddie, reggae legend Apache Indian and UK based rapper Yatez as well as New Delhi-based Hindustani singer Deveshi Sahgal. Fresh off the EP’s highly successful release, we caught up with the duo behind the project to talk about ‘She Did It!‘, working with Apache Indian, future plans and more.
Read on.
Argenil: We met in college during our 11th grade in a math class where we were discussing to form a band to perform in the college fest. Anil soon picked up the guitar and then started playing bass and Rohit was a percussionist for the longest time having his mother as his sole inspiration. We started playing Drums and Bass for a ton of bands and then slowly progressed into Electronic music. As Argenil, Rohit Gandhi produces music, plays the sax and percussions and Anil Prasad is the DJ and plays the guitar.
TBB: Coming to your EP, it has been steadily grabbing attention around the country. How long did it take for you guys to put together the entire 5-track project? What was the main inspiration and idea behind it?
Argenil: We took a good 6 months to make this EP. Half the stuff was composed when we were in America with bits and pieces of the raps and we had to finish the whole thing back in India. Lot of back and forth cause the song represents who you are and your vision so perfection was the top most priority. We tried a bunch of rappers and singers for the songs but it took us a while to get that perfect fit. Even though we had a vision of our sound , it was quite challenging to make that perfect blend. We had multiple versions of the songs before we could actually see the finish line So we finished about 10-12 songs and then picked the top 5 which made the EP. Both our managements Limn Entertainment and Sunset Entertainment helped us to get the best collaborations and this wouldn’t have been possible without them.
Our favorite approach has been to mess with sounds that have an Indian origin. Instruments and sounds that come from India. It’s so amazing how many different instruments, how many different categories of music exist in our own country that express different ethnicities and culture. That inspires us to learn more about these sounds and utilise them/ blend them in a unique way with modern electronic music to create our own genre and also blend them with other genres.
TBB: You guys worked with a lot of different artists on this release including a remix for the iconic artist Apache Indian. How was the entire process like collaborating with them & bringing your vision to life?
Argenil: It was a dream come true to have worked with Apache Indian and to have official remixes of his songs “Marianna” and “Punjabi Girl” which was also added to his album “On the weekend”. We sat for nights together in the studio to finish these songs and it’s a magical vibe when you have him in the studio. There is a reason they call him the legend. His talent, experience and personality is the biggest inspiration for us. When he first heard our music, he was really intrigued by the whole sound and showed great interest in exploring our complete idea. He eventually signed us to “Sunset Entertainment” and lives been different ever since.
TBB: Throughout the ‘She Did It’ EP, we get to hear a strong influence of Hindustani classical, bass and reggae music on each track. Can you tell us a bit more about your self-composed genre ‘Hindustani Trap’?
Argenil: Hindustani Trap is a form of Trap, derived by using Indian sounds, Scales, rhythms and anything that has an Indian origin. Its to create a bridge between indian sounds, culture,ethnicity and the global sounds used in trap/Hip-hop We as musicians were first introduced to these Indian sounds before anything else so our idea is to make this a global experimental sound. Its exclusive to us just because of the way we use it in our compositions. It could be a small blend or a whole song derived from it. The important part is to add that vibe to it that would make it a signature thing.
TBB: 2018 has undeniably turned out to be a brilliant year for the Argenil project. With the release of a massively successful EP and a nationwide tour under your belt, what lies next for you guys?
Argenil: We have a bunch of collaborations lined up in the coming months and we would like everything else to be a surprise. You’ll be hearing a lot more music in the style of hindustani trap and more! Stay tuned!