Composer BHARAT GOEL, who has recently released his song Kamli, speaks with SHALINI SAKSENA about why he has such a varied portfolio and how his degree in music has helped further in his journey

What is your latest venture Kamli about?

This song was designed, conceptulised, produced and released during the lockdown. I started my independent YouTube channel and then partnered with Believe Digital for distribution. This is my third song. The first song was a prayer one, the second a romantic one and the third — Kamli is a dance song. Also, this is the first time that I have worked with Nikita Gandhi even though we have worked with mutual friends of ours.

How easy or tough was it to compose for this project during the lockdown?

It depends on the project, the type of song. If the song requires a narrative or it is for a film, it needs a lot of live musicians, studio time and then recording it. This needs to be worked at. This is not possible during the lockdown. But for a dance number like Kamli, it requires dance music production. This is software based. Nikita is a producer herself as well and has a recording setup at her place. She was able to record the song and send me the vocals and hence collaboration was fairly smooth.

What are the things that you keep in mind while composing or producing music?

Music is a creative field. It has no rules. Music for me is a form of expression of emotion. When I sit down to compose or produce a song, I have only one objective, that the listener must feel the emotion that I am trying to portray in the song. If I am doing a romantic song, I want the listener to go through the experience and feel the romance in the song. The idea is to build a connection in all aspects — in the writing, in the vocal production and not just composition.

The listeners are vast. How do you cater to all?

It is not possible to cater to each and everybody’s taste is different. You can’t keep everyone happy. However, the idea is to relate to as many people as possible. My strength is that I have done different types of styles and genres. This is an important trait as a composer and producer — to be as versatile as possible.

How important have your degrees been when it comes to music?

It is very important. One of the best decisions in my life is to have studied music. It gave me an insight into the intricacies of music production at all platforms. It was a wide variety of skills and experience that I was exposed to.

You have a varied portfolio. Have you made it a conscious decision to expand your reach?

I have tried to restrict myself. Being versatile — to be able to produce, compose and experiment is important in the growth curve of a composer. If I stick to one genre, I will master it but I will end up neglecting a vast variety of audience that I could reach out to. The whole idea of starting my channel was to be able to experiment and compose and set net trends.

How important is to stick to the roots and not experiment?

Music doesn’t need to stick to rules. But there is a thin line when it comes to experimenting and as long as one keeps that in mind, it is all good.

How necessary is it to be upgraded where technology is concerned?

Two years back, I started creating real instrument sounds in a virtual studio environment and started coding and sampling. The end result is that now I have a library of samples. This gives me an edge over sounds since I am the only one to have these codes and samples. The technical knowledge that I have can find its way into exploiting it commercially. All the equipment that I have is cutting-edge and the latest that is out there.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I breathe music 24x7. One has to become a consumer first in order to be creative in order to know what is out there. I listen to all kinds of music from across the world. I have to be up to date with all kind content out there and be there online and hear new music.

Do you think that there is more scope for indie artists?

The best times for indie artists is now. Today, music consumption is being consumed at OTT platforms. What this does is that it gives independent artists a chance to showcase their talent and experiment.

What next?

I am working on my fourth song. I have also collaborated with T-Series, Tips and Times Music. A song is my song just released for the film Chaman Bahar. So I have a few film projects and independent work as well.