Digital gaga

was discovered on Soundcloud.

Yes, Justin Beiber and Rebecca Black were discovered on YouTube, but for producers of Karthik’s calibre and his target audience, platforms like Soundcloud, Mixcloud and the more recent Twitter #Music work better. “I can confidently say that without these platforms there would be zero encouragement for me to continue producing the kind of house music I produce. My target audience is mostly in Europe. Even with these platforms, producing from India to reach out to an international audience is a completely different ballgame. The kind of sup- port that artistes get there is different,” he points out.

With influences ranging from Simon & Garfunkel to Earth, Wind and Fire, Karthik’s music comes with an old sound charm. He started DJing in 2002, after which he took off to the School of Recording, Manchester.

Support did flow in steadily for Karthik after he started producing. In 2012, he was invited by London’s No. 1 online radio, Push FM as a guest DJ. “Success is having a steady flow of releases and getting signed,” he says, before he goes on about another honour that comes with being signed on by international record labels — being on vinyls!

“Record labels like ‘Oh So Coy’ from Switzerland, UK’s ‘Crossworld Academy’ and ‘Deep Nota’ in Brooklyn make vinyls of the tracks they release. For someone with a technical background, it is a great feeling to have their tracks on vinyls. It is the oldest medium of mass production for music,” he says with romance for vinyls clear in his eyes.