How did the collaboration with Satya Paul come about ?
Abhishek : Tarana and I are best of friends and we ’ ve been at each other ’ s houses and studios pretty much every week of our lives . One of our sessions ended up with us messing around with our analogue synths . We wrote lyrics and started singing to them . That was that , we came up with ‘ Birds & Bees ’ :)
People loved it ! And just so happened , that it fit just perfectly for a campaign like that .
Tarana : We were introduced to Rajesh Pratap Singh by our mutual friend and mentor Gaurav Raina . Rajesh had a vision , an idea to merge music with fashion , that took shape as a music video for Satya Paul . ‘ Birds & Bees ’ seemed like a perfect , snug fit .
Tell us a bit more about the track ‘ Birds & Bees ’.
Abhishek : ‘ Birds & Bees ’ is essentially a song that captures a flirtatious conversation between two shy strangers at a party , who happen to feel perfectly at ease around one another . Along with producing vocals in a way where we sample and chop a lot of words here and there , the synth work is also delicate yet deliberate , reminiscent of chiptune music , a common favourite of ours .
Tell us about the production of the track .
Abhishek : We ’ ve had a lot of fun playing with vocals . Sampling and messing around with voices is something we both enjoy as producers . The main bass of the track , along with the synthlines towards the end , are tracked on OB-6 ( one of my favorite analog polysynths ).
Tarana : We sat down with a synthesiser loop and decided to do spoken word rap over it . So in a sense we were rapping back and forth with each other sitting right next to each other . Our inspiration for the track was ‘ Promiscuous Girl ’ by Nelly and Timbaland . We wanted to flirt with each other and have the lyrics convey something sensual .
The beat came after and the tabla was a fun addition , and the track was finally mixed at Gaurav Raina ’ s studio .
Take us through your music making process .
Abhishek : I always start with a vocal idea recorded as a voice note on my phone . I then take that to my machine and start producing . I love working with analogue gear , when it comes to synth work . And yes , a lot of textural sounds and granular soundscapes .
Tell us about the different gear and equipment you use for making music .
Abhishek : I rely on a lot of analogue gear . I use a lot of the Moog Slim Phatty for my bass work . I also have a pedal board set up with analogue delay , distortion , reverb and granular synth . I would love to own a Prophet 8 for my synth work . You will soon hear that on my next track .
Tarana : For ‘ Birds & Bees ’, we used analog synthesizers like the SUB 37 and the prophet to create loops and bass lines . The vocals were recorded on a Neumann U87 , a famous mic . The tabla samples were from a library on Gaurav ’ s computer . Abhishek made the beat from scratch using bits and pieces off the Internet .
How do you define your roles as music collaborators ? Who is good at what .
Abhishek : We are both vocalists and producers . It becomes super easy to ideate together as we both think alike . Apart from vocals and production skills , Tarana is an amazing composer and really good with keys . It ’ s a lot easier to work with someone who can translate ideas onto an instrument that fast !
Tarana : I ’ m good with lyrics and Abhishek is good with production . We stuck to these roles but also switched it up at times which made it all the more fun .
All of us have a similar taste in music so we often sit together and just listen for inspiration . I think the music we make when we ’ re together vs when we do it solo is extremely different !
What do you do when you have a creative block ?
Abhishek : I generally stress a lot as my mind wanders to weird places . I do nothing .
Tarana : Me personally ? I lock myself in my studio room , dim the lights , and listen to video game soundtracks . They always transport me to simpler times when I felt inspired and alive .
What are your upcoming projects ? What are you most excited by ?
Abhishek : I ’ m working on new Curtain Blue singles . I ’ ll be putting out a release date very soon !
Tarana : I ’ m releasing a full length album along with a Komorebi exclusive comic this year . It ’ s a labour of love and something I ’ ve wanted to do since forever .
The album comes out with two music videos , one directed by starving artist films , the other in collaboration with media monks !
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