What did you do musically through lockdown ? Did you release new music ?
I was living in a dream world before this pandemic . I thought all my music would release itself only to realise that nothing works on its own until you put time and effort to it . So , I decided to be more productive than I ’ ve ever been . It just made me realise how much unreleased music has been lying on my hard drive for years which needs to see the light of day .
I released an EP ( Raj ’ s Mixtape ) full of re-imagined Bollywood tracks , my first R & B / hip-hop single titled “ Chill Atleast ” and a collaborative instagram series titled Strangers In My Bedroom ( 5 episodes so far and more are in the pipeline )
Challenges you faced when recording your songs / making new music
I had to move back home ( Delhi ) for the pandemic and most of my studio stuff was in Mumbai so I was literally using TV speakers to make music . Most of what you hear from me has been written , composed and arranged on television speakers . Also , finding electricians to repair equipment was a pain .
I happen to live in a market area so there was always a vegetable seller screaming into my recordings . I could only record at night .
How do you think the music scene can recover from the pandemic hit ?
By waiting . Patience is the name of the game . There ’ s a lot that can be done even now , for eg . Music is being consumed progressively so it ’ s a good time for an artist to put out original music , to collaborate with other musicians and create more content .
As for the live gigs bit , which I understand is the major chunk of income for an artist , we can do nothing but wait for things to get better or someone to develop a vaccine .
What can we look forward to from you now ?
My next track “ Tranquilo ” with Soother and UpsideDown drops at the end of November , followed by fun Punjabi / R & B collaborations with Rashi Sood & UpsideDown , soon after .
DJ and performer
ICONYK AKA NIKHIL MALIK
The Score Magazine
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