Meet Raunak Sandhu, who's day starts at his office, in a cubicle with post-it notes and a desktop, may be a hot beverage too. It ends at his home later in the evening with a game of footy in his playstation. This is, well, an uneventful day as Raunak himself admits. But he lets the creative juices ooze out later once he pops his ableton alive and start sketching out some new ideas. Now this is where it gets interesting as I start to unwrap the the layers of a musician - Raunak Sandhu. Meet again.
Raunak is enticed with music that's more on the mellow side of the deep house and techno spectrum. He is influenced from music he himself loves listening to, be it house , techno, jazz, rock, world music, all genres have their own way of articulating emotions and that's what makes music really special. But to refine it and narrow it down, you'd wanna believe his specialty is Deep House, with a hint of techno, and a sprinkle of jazz. now if that's is not the perfect recipe to making music, I don't know what is.
Tell us, what does a typical day in the studio means for you?
My music making process is very iterative in nature, so its mostly creating ideas like a melody, a section of the track, a groove, a weird sound, anything that will inspire me to take it forward. Seldom i sit for hours trying to force an outcome. I feel its really important to re-listen after breaks and make changes based on how I feel at the moment and not chase a particular vibe. In the meantime I'm pretty much always listening to music, discovering and rediscovering music that I like, so I'm subconsciously getting inspired my the music itself and how i feel as I live life.
What are the various equipment and gear you have in your studio to facilitate production?
Currently I'm using a beat up Pre-sonus audio box usb, Arturia Keylab as my main midi controller, and the only synth I have is a Korg monologue. I also use an electric guitar for textures. You really don't need much to make good music nowadays, but having a physical piece of hardware really makes the process a bit less structured and more hands on.
What got you into this genre?
I love producing tracks of this style, because it is an interesting canvas to paint an array of different emotions, be it through sound design, song structure, vocals or percussion. The possibilities really are endless, and they are experienced in very intimate environment to a nice open air venue. It has the widest range of any genre I've come across.
How easy/difficult it is to release music in your genre? and you favourite labels are?
Having only a few releases under my belt, I'd have to say that its been difficult, but the hardest aspect of it is pleasing myself before I send a track to a label. Right now if I only had to pick 5 I definitely would say
- Keinemusik
- Freerange
- Anjunadeep
- Selador
- Chapter 24
Why did you choose this career?
I chose making music , simply cause it makes me happy, even in my day job, i work as a product designer and i work for a company that designs playgrounds for kids , i am creating playgrounds solely based on music and musical instruments, it is something that has found its way into everything in my life
How has the struggle been so far to your current stand?
One of the struggles I'm facing is balancing my day job and giving time to my music, i love doing both and sometimes it becomes difficult to manage. Creatively there is always a struggle , and I'm sure this is something most artists experience, is making something different, something that people resonate with and also pushes the boundaries of creativity within the genre, producing something that is timeless.
Is the path ahead more struggling or does it get better from here?
I actually don't worry about it that much, making music is therapeutic for me. I do it as much for myself as for other people and I'd still be doing it even if no one listened to my music. It is extremely fulfilling for me, and even more so when i see people enjoying something i created.
As an upcoming artist with tough competition, what struggles and challenges do you face?
One of the main challenges is standing out, making something truly different, making a track that overflows with emotion yet makes people dance. The tough competition only pushes me to constantly reinvent myself.
What is your methodology behind a set you play when you open for artists at clubs?
I've mostly only opened for a few artists so i try to build the set in a way that i lead into the kind of music being played by who I'm opening for, and its always a slow steady build up with a few injections of energy periodically.
What’s coming up for You down the road?
A lot of new music, dabbling in different styles like classic house , lo fi, hard techno.
The value of music in unparalleled, it is something that can lift your mood, alter how you feel , it has a lot of power and i just want people to appreciate all kinds of music and what different artists and genres bring to the table is so unique and people who are just starting out shouldn't be afraid of exploring as much as they can creatively
Well, thank you once again for spending time with us, giving us valuable insight in to your career. We wish you all the very best of luck in your endeavours. See you soon at a club.
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