Troy Henry aka TroyBoi is the latest electronic music producer to hit Indian shores and he’s coming with a slap on the back from none other than EDM/dancehall stars Major Lazer’s producer Diplo, who runs the Mad Decent record label.
TroyBoi’s even headed out to Los Angeles to work with Diplo, on the track ‘Afterhours’, which is a clear winner when it comes to getting the dancefloors moving. Ahead of his debut three-city tour of India, including his roof-raising performance at JW Marriott in Bengaluru on July 23, TroyBoi talks about coming to India, working with Diplo and his upcoming album Left Is Right. Excerpts:
What do you usually anticipate when you go to a new country to perform?
That is very hard to say, really. I mean, you know you have a fan base who know your music, but you never truly know what to expect until you’re actually there. India is a place I wanted to visit for a long time. A lot of my music has some or the other infusions of India – like pans and textures. I’m interested to see how the real Indian audience takes that music when I’m there. I’m really excited.
Plenty of DJs have stopped by in the past – have you talked to any of them about the country as prep?
Definitely. I’ve had a few friends who’ve been here before and they all spoke very highly of the hospitality and the food, of course. I know it’s a bit clichéd, but I’m a big fan of Indian food myself. So it’s going to be a very good one for me (laughs).
Do you treat crowds around the world the same? How do you treat each gig?
Every crowd is different, I treat them special. My music stays the same, but when I’m there, I try to get a feel. It’s the first ever time I’m going to be in India, so it’s going to be very educational. Even though I’m playing for different crowds around the world, I’m still aware that each crowd is unique.
You’ve collaborated with producers like Diplo, Flosstradamus – are those processes in-person or over the internet? How do you still make it work even if it’s over the internet?
With the Flosstradamus track (‘Soundclash’), that was done over the internet – we sent tracks back and forth and finished it. The track with Diplo (‘Afterhours’), I went to a studio in Los Angeles and we were going to work on a track. He opened up a folder on his computer and said, ‘I have some vocals’. I asked what and he said they were by (R&B duo) Nina Sky. I went, ‘Oh wow, okay’. That was their a cappella vocals on our flow. I just built the beats around their vocals. That was done in the studio and then via the Internet as well. I mean, it’s always good to be able to meet producers but you can basically do everything back and forth over the Internet as well.
Your album Left Is Right is coming up – what kind of sound have you got going on that? Any collaborations you can talk about?
I’ve never made an album before and everything I’ve put out before this album, I’ve done a lot of it myself. It’s going to show people the diversity of my production. I’ve consciously done that. It’s a way to showcase my production skills but there are a few features on there as well. What I can say is that I’ve made this album more music-based, to show people what I can do, almost without having features.
You have a US tour coming up after this, spanning from September to December. How is the plan for that coming along?
That’s a huge one. It’s thoroughly different. The album will be out before that and you’ll get a feel of it by then. All the live shows are going to have tracks 100 percent produced by myself. Of course, it’s going to have all the new tracks as well. I have my own visuals, my own sound and stage set-up. I’m going over and beyond to give people the real feel of what a TroyBoi show is all about.