I would like to be a versatile music producer: DJ Aaron Amir

His ‘Stay x Ranjha’ mashup may have garnered over 2.3 million views online, but there was a time when Bengaluru-based DJ Aaron Aamir never dreamed he would come so far.

“I hail from an ordinary middle class family and both my parents work hard. There was no way I could tell them I wanted to pursue music as a career, even though I knew that was what I wanted to do from the time I was 17,” says Aamir.

“I was studying at Dayanand Sagar University and I saved up my B.Tech scholarship fund to enrol for lessons in music production at Livewires in Koramangala. The scholarship covered only a portion of my fees, but the team at Livewires liked my work even though it was not crafted too well. I could rap, compose music and write lyrics and they offered to tutor me.”

“I ended up graduating from both courses within a space of few months in 2015. I was hired by Sharaab Factory, a pub in Bellandur as a DJ, earning ₹ 100 a day while on probation which eventually went up to ₹ 12,000 per month. Even when I began working as a civil engineer in a construction company I did not tell my parents. I would finish my day job, head to the pub for my gig and then return home. Sleep was scarce those days,” he laughs.

Aamir says he kept making music throughout but just was not confident to release it. “Finally, I took a chance and released my first single in 2016. Titled, ‘Body and Love’ it got a few good responses with local channels featuring my work.”

“It was my second single ‘Loco Loco’ in 2019, that gave me international recognition — I got to perform with Steve Mulder in Oman at Tomorrowland. In 2020, I won the Producer of the Year Award from Delhiites.”

All his music and videos are self-produced and whenever possible, in collaboration with the original artists. Talking about the popularity of ‘Stay x Ranjha,’ he credits artist B Praak’s shares of his video as the reason for going viral. “I would like to be a versatile music producer and I love to experiment with different genres of music. There are great songs from the 90s that are constantly being remade and regional sounds from every part of India. I hope by blending them to the right degree I can reach a larger audience,” says the artist, aware that it is his USP.

A quick glance at his music shows a harmonious mix of contemporary numbers with pop hits and black-and-white Hindi classics.

DJ Aaron Aamir is Aamir Khan’s stage name. “My parents were huge fans of the actor and named me after him. I felt using it as a stage name would not seem appropriate so I took on Aaron,” says the full-time music producer, adding his parents have finally reconciled to his chosen career.