Musicians Akshay Rajpurohit, Shatrunjai Dewan and Sid Shirodkar talk about performing at Magnetic Fields

Aqua Dominatrix (Akshay Rajpurohit) and ParaPhoniks (Sid Shirodkar and Shatrunjai Dewan) will take the BudX South Stage at the Magnetic Fields, the festival of contemporary music and arts being held at Alsisar Mahal in Rajasthan from December 14-16. The electronic projects talk about what to expect from their sets, their new albums — Flesh and Silhouettes respectively, and upcoming works.

What are your thoughts ahead of playing at Magnetic Fields? 

Aqua Dominatrix: I’m really nervous, actually — not the kind that comes from not wanting to do this… it’s more like, ‘bring it on’. I’ve never played to visuals that are synced to the music. Here, I can dictate what happens at the back — what people are seeing and hearing at the same time. That gives me immense control but it has also put a lot of pressure on me.  

ParaPhoniks: We are excited at the prospect of bringing our music to such a beautiful festival! For us, it’s going to be a special show. We’re also stoked for people to see what’s in store for the visual component of our set. Other than that, we’re really looking forward to watching some of the other acts on the line-up and enjoying the rest of the festival.

What should the fans expect from the set?

AD: The majority of the set is from my new album Flesh. I will also be performing songs from my album Overthrowing Magnus (2016) and a few singles I did last year. Because the visuals are dictating this set in terms of what the new album is about rather than previous albums, I guess the entire theme is going to be modern, psychedelic, dark and heavy. 

PP: Our new album, Silhouettes, defines our current sound, due to which we’ve almost entirely eliminated previous material from our new live show. We will play the record in its entirety (albeit not as one piece and not in the track order on the album). The set also includes some old as well as some unreleased material. 

Electronic music is doing quite well these days. Is there a pressure on you to stand out? 

AD: I don’t know about standing out. I am a recluse. I don’t go out much, stand in the corner whenever I do go out for a gig. I write music because I love it, and if people like it, great. I’m not here to compete with anyone or establish some kind of superiority. I am a storyteller; I just want to tell my story.  

PP: We’re not doing what we do in order to ‘stand out’. The music comes naturally to us, rather than it being a conscious decision to sound different. There’s definitely no pressure to stand out as such; if anything, we’re humbled to be a part of this growing community of electronic musicians in the country. 

What else is in the pipeline?

AD: Flesh is being mastered by Mandy Parnell, who has worked on albums by Daft Punk, Björk, Radiohead, Alice in Chains, etc. When I got the slot with her, I had seven tracks mixed down and was working on two more that might get released as bonus tracks. After this, I really want to start working on the Pangea (his other metal band) record that needs my attention.  

PP: Only time will tell!