Trap it all

Alka Yagnik’s Choli Ke Peeche is one of the most epochal songs of not only the ‘90s, but possibly of all times when we talk of Bollywood. The track was a rage when Khalnayak released, and even now you can hear it at parties when people want to get their sass on. Bengaluru-based Kunaal Gurbaxani, better known as DJ Gurbax, has made the bold move to take this track and remix it in his own signature style. 

Known for his deep bass drops and trap vibes right from his debut track Boom Shankar that released about four years ago, Gurbax has taken the Sanjay Dutt-Madhuri hit and completely deconstructed it. Whether you like Bollywood music, or aren’t such a fan of Hindi film music, this track is likely to find a spot on your playlist.
  
“Last year I put out two remixes, this Choli Ke Peeche remix and Ritviz’s Ved. Choli... happened randomly. I worked with Mr Doss, who is also from Bengaluru, on my song Aghori. We are usually on the same wavelength when it comes to music, and even outside the studio, we are good friends. He’s my go-to guy to bounce ideas off,” says Gurbax.
 
“The track started off as an idea for an original. I had made a skeleton framework for how I wanted the track to be and used samples from the original film song. We just used the hook lyrics. Mr Doss and I were bouncing ideas off each other, and we were looking for vocals too, so we decided to use more lines from the song, and we’ve also used the unique ‘been’ melody -- the iconic elements of the song. Everything worked really well together, very organically,  and we decided to turn it into a full-blown remix. Even though we’ve deconstructed it, we have preserved the vibe of the original song,” he adds.
He points out that the track also has a high recall value which works well because his audiences, which are mostly millenials and Gen Z, have a strong attraction to nostalgia.
 
The artist believes he has come a long way from Boom Shankar, which made his heavy bass drops a strong part of his identity in the music circuit. “Now I think I have a signature sound that people can recognise my brand of music with. Earlier, I was just trying out stuff and hoping something would stick with the audiences, not knowing any of this will become a part of my identity as an artist. I was testing waters. I wanted to see how people perceive my music. And now, for people who know me, my songs are easily palatable,” says he.
 
But though Gurbax’s proud that his music is easily recognisable now, the last thing he wants to be is complacent with his work. This year, his mission is to experiment with fresh content, while finding innovative ways to retain elements of his signature style in his music. “I’m dabbling with several completely different genres of music this year that my listeners would have never expected me to experiment with. There’s going to be more desi trap, more hip-hop crossover kind of music. My real aim is to diversify my sound,” says he.
 
After spending enough time in the studio, coming with crisp content, his next move is going to be making novel videos for his tracks. “I plan on releasing at least one video this year. Though my first priority is to spend a lot of time in the studio creating new sounds right now, once I’m done with that, I will be diving as deep into the visual element too,” says Gurbax, who will be performing at VH1 Supersonic in the city over the weekend. 

“I will be playing a bunch of new songs. There will be a lot of unreleased content, including a new remix that will be transcending genres. I don’t want to give away much about it now, because I want it to be a surprise element for my listeners at the festival,” says he, adding, “My live sets are always customised. Very rarely do I play a song from the start to the finish. I mostly play custom dits that are reserved only for my live shows. And of course this is a chance for my listeners to get a taste of my unreleased originals too.”