VINU is a true citizen of the world, and this can be heard in his unique sound. Growing up he was a classically trained violinist, and eventually taught himself to play other instruments as well. In 2004 he began DJing various kinds of electronic music, which soon led to a desire to create his own music. Over the last few years VINU has played at legendary US nightclubs like Exchange LA, Avalon, Do Not Sit on the Furniture, and Treehouse in Miami.
We caught up with VINU to talk about his current musical projects.
Electronic Groove: Hi VINU, we hope you are well and safe. We know you’re quite the globe-trotter, so we want to know…does how has this eclectic upbringing influenced your actual style of original productions? Do you think having been trained as a classical violinist has had any impact on how you go about composing nowadays?
VINU: Hey there! I’m doing just as well as everyone else during these times, thanks for asking. That’s a great question, I grew up in 4 different countries and I would say each place had a distinct musical impact on me. In each place, I was exposed to new music that was popular there at the time, or perhaps through new friends, and I’m sure each type of music I was exposed to is filed away somewhere deep in my subconscious, and of course, influences how I write music today.
To answer your second question, yes being trained on the violin is the basis of my entire musical foundation. I actually come from a musical family where both my mother and grandfather are professional violinists. My grandfather started teaching me Indian classical music on the violin from the time I was like 2 years old! And my mother taught music out of the house when I was growing up, so I was pretty much always exposed to it.
Electronic Groove: Could you take us through your typical production process? We know not all tracks get started the same way, but do you have a tendency to find it easier by starting with the groove section or the melodies?
VINU: The way I approach starting a new track is to write what I consider to be the most compelling elements of it first. For my music, that’s a killer bassline, a hooky melody, and of course a kick drum to hold it all down; once I get those things right, I’ll begin adding in other elements like percussion, pads, and fx. The thought process behind that is you don’t want to add all the bells and whistles to a track that doesn’t have a solid foundation. So I always try to focus on the core elements of a track first. Of course, there are times where I deviate from this process, but this is probably how 90% of my tracks start. Another big part of my process is hardware synthesizers, for some reason I’ve never really liked using soft-synths. I will use soft-synths for things that I need clinical precision and control over, like my basslines, but most of my sounds come from hardware. Lastly, you can’t conclude a conversation on the production process without talking about the mixdown. I do a bit of mixing as I go for things like the kick and bass but usually dedicate a separate day with fresh ears to doing the final mixdown once I’ve finished the arrangement of the track.
Electronic Groove: We are very fond of your work on one of your last tracks, ‘Melodic Sunrise’. Do you feel like you have ‘found your sound’? Do you take that track as sort of a turning point for what will come?
VINU: Oh wow, thank you! You know that’s an interesting question. Part of me feels like if you ever “find” your sound then it’s almost like saying you’ve arrived at your destination. And frankly, I think that music and creativity are never-ending pursuits that require constant innovation. That being said, I do know what you mean, and I guess you could say “my sound” is beginning to take shape. My gauge for this is when I send my music to friends and they tell me it sounds like me. So I guess there is an identity that’s beginning to come through in my music, and that’s certainly something I’ve always aspired to. I think pretty much all my favorite artists have this quality, where as soon as you hear the song you know it’s theirs.
Electronic Groove: We know that a few years back, you attempted to go all-out on pursuing your career as a DJ/Producer. Now, you seem to have taken a new approach to it. Could you tell us about your reasoning behind it?
VINU: Man, you guys do your homework! Sure. So back in 2014, I was DJing and producing under the name subCNCS in Los Angeles and decided to quit my day job at one of Disney’s animation studios to pursue music full time. I did my best to “make it”, but long story short is that I wasn’t able to make ends meet. I learned a lot of valuable lessons that year, and in many ways, I’d say it’s those lessons that have helped me be successful with my VINU project. Today, I think it’s best to have a steady day job that covers my cost of living, and also allows me enough free time to produce music on the side. The minute my income from music equals the income from my day job, I’ll quit and never look back! I think this a slightly more pragmatic approach to the one I had when I was younger.
“I guess there is an identity that’s beginning to come through in my music, and that’s certainly something I’ve always aspired to”
Electronic Groove: Recently, we heard one of your upcoming tracks on Nick Warren’s home Livestream. Could you tell us more about it?
VINU: (Laughter) there’s actually a really cool story behind that! I saw that Nick Warren was going to be doing a Livestream later in the week, so I sent this track I’d just finished to him, and he replied right away saying he’d definitely play it in his stream. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that! Fast forward to later in the week, I’m watching the premiere of his set live with like 8000 other people on Facebook, and he plays my track as promised!! At the exact same time, like literally while I was watching him play my track, I receive another email from Nick saying that he’d like to sign the track to The Soundgarden!! I was totally caught off guard and obviously super thrilled just for him to be playing it, but then for him to ask to sign it made it a truly special moment for me!
Electronic Groove: Back to everyday life…how has this situation with the ‘Coronavirus’ impacted your life? Where are you right now? Are there any creative activities you would recommend to keep up with the artistic flow?
VINU: Well it’s impacted me just as much as the next person, but I also happened to move to a new country literally just before everything went crazy. I moved to Singapore a little over a month ago, and it’s been a strange time to be starting out in a new city, to say the least. For me personally, I have a daily practice of yoga and meditation that helps keep me grounded, and I think that also helps keep the creative juices flowing. Those are two things I highly recommend to just about everyone I know.
Electronic Groove: Electronic music aside…what are your biggest references? Being a classical violinist, some of these might be a bit outside the norm. What did you grow up listening to at home?
VINU: Absolutely. Yeah as I mentioned earlier I grew up learning Indian classical music, so that is obviously a major influence for me. I also listened to a lot of western classical music growing up like Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, etc. Outside of that, some non-electronic things that my parents played at home when I was a kid were Bob Marley, Pink Floyd, Santana, and Michael Jackson. These were all things my father was a fan of. I probably only started getting into electronic music in my early teens. But this answer would be incomplete without mentioning the artists that have really influenced me the most: Jimi Hendrix, Shpongle, Vibrasphere, Infected Mushroom, deadmau5, and Pryda. Of course, there are countless electronic DJ’s and artists from our scene that I have not mentioned here, but this list would be 10 pages long if I started getting into those!
Electronic Groove: Finally, any upcoming releases or endeavors that we should be looking forward to this year?
VINU: Well I am giving away a remix I did of Stan Kolev’s ‘Ananda’ for a remix competition last year as a free download. Quite a few people have asked for this remix after hearing Nick Warren play it during WMC last year, so you can finally get your hands on it now! Then of course as I mentioned earlier will have my new track ‘The Source’ coming out on The Soundgarden later this year. And you can probably expect a few other originals and remixes from me before the end of the year too!
Electronic Groove: Many thanks and we wish you nothing but the best!
VINU: Thank you guys so much for the awesome interview, it was fun!
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