What's up, BeachHouse?

BeachHouse Project 4.0 felt like a pressure cooker about to blow- and for good reasons! This piece shares dialogues and anecdotes from #BHXGoa and celebrates the impressions of the journey on the people who undertook it.

 

We caught up with Raja Malhotra, musician and sound engineer, who's currently modeling his new label ( Stellar) to life. Raja is also the brains behind Trifecta Records - an independent record label & recording studio based in New Delhi. Trifecta ,so much so as Raja, associates with the intent of bringing music that is powerful, emotional and of superlative musicianship from artists of the highest caliber.

Previously a Metal/Rock/Blues enthusiast, Raja saw a shift in his musical sensibilities once he delved into Jazz, Pop and Hip-Hop. Now Raja devotes his time in bringing genre-defying music to life, fusing elements and experimenting with sounds that are a total game-changer; creating his own style as a kind of a happy accident! And it's safe to say, Raja is an absolute treat to talk to - even on a Monday morning, to add emphasis! Here's what we found out-

1. What were your expectations for BHX and how did it unfold?

I wouldn’t say I was stripped of expectations before BHX, no. There are certain common factors that drive this, again. Like investing a considerable sum of money sets an apprehensive standard on the quality of experiences one hopes to be a part of.  However, I was keen on an accommodating mental plane, leaving spontaneity to surprise me every now and then.  I was looking forward to benefit from the project and in retrospect, BHXGoa turned out to be a tireless dynamo of passion that worked out for me in more ways than one. Working with Greg on the project also stirred a lot of my personal passions and it streamlined my vision of what to expect and more importantly, how to go smartly about it!

 

2.  Indulge us in two good things that took you by surprise at BHXGoa.

There were plenty of surprises I did not expect. I am reminded of the second day in Goa when all of us embarked on a Treasure Hunt around the city. The activity in itself was a solid ice-breaker. You could feel different individuals coming together, out of their shells and finally mingling and working as a group together and post, there was no looking back. There's  another  personal, peachy anecdote which stays with me fresh as yesterday - 15 minutes with Vivek.  Those 15 minutes were an absolute run up a bill moment . The circumstances leading up to those 15 minutes are utterly questionable*laughs* ,however, there was this overwhelming honesty and comfort in that conversation. By the end of it, we carved a smooth path for my venture and I have been taking it from there even till date. Talk about the sheer validity that two people getting along can manifest!

 

3.   Talk to us about what you do and what drives your work.

Making music as an enterprising artist is not new, however, does not date way back into the past either. There's a significant niche that artists of our times are stressing on - unlike musicians of the past who just specialized in making art for mass consumption, the adherents today not only make their own music, but also produce, engineer, and distribute their music in dynamic niche markets via social media. In this shift, " other people's successes " has been a good motivator for my work. It sounds mentally draining and challenging however, a lot of what drives my music is the acceptance of who I am and the kind of music I want to be associated with. That's my dichotomy of making music - striking a balance between what everyone listens to and what nobody listens to. To put it like this, it's like bringing to the table artistic endeavors stimulated by an urban culture-sense of music while not totally disapproving the commercial aspect of it. All in all, " Do more. Keep going, don’t stop" .

 

 

4.  What are any significant insights about you and your work that you've taken from BHX?

When you're stuffed with a bunch of individuals who have seen, absorbed and experienced the many different walks of life, there's hardly any dearth of inspiration and learning in the room. Interestingly, when we were all discussing about the term "MVP" , I was aligned more towards the Basketball-jargon-understanding of it. But this term turned my entrepreneurial faculty upside down! MVP or Minimum Viable Product has done more than just changing my approach towards my projects. It has helped me strategize how to create, how to offer  and most importantly - how to pitch my projects. This developmental technique was my chief endorsement from BHX. Of course it resonates incredibly well with curated experiences at BHX: a distinguished and unconventional platform of networking that leads to and also eventually enhances productive and creative outputs at the end of BHX!

BHX tirelessly strives towards creating an immersive, perspective-shifting product that challenges and inspires the sophisticated traveler on a deeply personal level - creating emotion through the powerful medium of storytelling and transforming their lives and of those around for the better. Does it sound like your call for adventure?

 

(This interview has been edited and condensed)