“In the past couple of years, quite a few people have come up to me with assumptions that, as an artiste, because I play a bunch of different shows and that I’m going from city to city, that I am constantly surrounded by alcohol and women, and that my life is one continuous party of fun,” laughs Ekansh Agarwal, a music producer and DJ, “but I want to make people understand that this is far from the big picture. What they see is about 20% of what DJs and music producers do. They don’t realise that what they enjoy for an hour, we are preparing for about a week in advance. This is serious work, getting your gear right, understanding the venue, etcetera.”
Ekansh, aka BLITHE, has been in the DJ-ing game for more than six years, but does not have any original music out at the moment.
He specialises in Progressive music and prefers people come see him perform live and given he is a regular on the live set circuit, it is possible. In fact, BLITHE often plays at Prism Bar & Kitchen — is most recent set was just this past Sunday for their Synth Sets. He also has a day job of sorts, he says, and it involves running shows at clubs like Prism as well as exclusive pop-ups. “It keeps me involved during the daytime hours too,” he chuckles, as having an active schedule is a priority for him. “You have to keep pushing yourself because it’s so easy to procrastinate.”
BLITHE’s music set up is very basic, he says. “Right now I’m playing on all the CDJs and the CD players on the mixer so it’s not really anything digital, it’s mostly just software. I think that’s what keeps my sets versatile and grabbing attention.”
It is clear that music is in his blood, “My grandfather and grandmother come from a very musical background; they know how to play quite a few instruments so there is always a good atmosphere at home which fosters musical passion. My grandmother would sit me down and have me understand the creative medium. I tried to learn a couple instruments when I was younger but I didn’t really follow through. I can play a few chords on the guitar and maybe a few notes on the keys. Ekansh does not remember his first set but he can recall the feelings of nervousness which still come up today ahead of a live set. “The first time, I was so nervous, my hands were shaking before I could even hit ‘play’, but it is a good experience because halfway through, my confidence kicked in.”
When there was no scene…
Six and a half years in the business has shown Ekansh a world of changes in the city’s live music scene for sure. “I remember when there was no music scene at all, only a clubbing scene. It was mostly the same kind of music and whoever was doing something alternative didn’t get as much pull.” Of course, things are different now as musical revolutions are better embraced. Over time, Ekansh’s inclinations evolved too and it reflected a lot in his journey.
If you go online, hunting for a Soundcloud or Bandcamp page by BLITHE, think again. He explains that his original music is undergoing approval with record labels, but expect something out within the next few months.
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