You can collab only if your numbers match: Nucleya

Music producer-DJ Nucleya recently performed in the Capital and had the audience grooving to his slick beats. Ecstatic about doing live gigs again, he says, “I’ve missed it! I’m really happy we are back, meeting new people, being able to play new music… I am not doing shows every week, but it’s good to be back on the road.”

Scroll through his discography and you will see many collaborative projects, as he finds it a “great way to learn more about music and creativity”. However, the Let’s Nacho (Kapoor & Sons; 2016) music maker adds that the “number-driven” mindset of the industry is often a hindrance. “In the music industry, everything is heavily governed by music labels. You can only collab with any artiste if your numbers match… I want to work with people who are creatively in the same space as me, big artistes or small,” says Nucleya, whose real name is Udyan Sagar.

He also tells us that last year, he couldn’t finish his track with singer Arijit Singh: “What I envisioned for the song never happened, so I chucked it. It’s not because of Arijit. He turns everything into gold. I want to be 110% proud of the work I put out. I didn’t feel it with that song… Maybe I’ll finish it and put it in the album this year.”

Continuing with electronic and bass, he is staying true to his unique musical lexicon. Ask him about it and the 42-year-old says, “I am always looking out for something unique. If I have to make electronic music, how can I make it different? Recently, someone close to me also asked me this: what is the need to make things different? I didn’t have any answer for him; I still don’t.”

Author tweets @digvijayitis