Tell us about your background, prior to joining the music business?
Aneesha : Ah! Well my first internship out of college was at Vogue. The magazine had just launched in India and just like any other girl, I wanted to work there without even knowing if Fashion is what I wanted to truly pursue as a career. Working at Vogue definitely lived up to the expectation of how the fashion world is depicted in movies and I moved up from intern to a freelancer. However I quit a year and half into my role because I don’t think I was treated well and went ahead to pursue my Masters at Warwick University in the UK. That’s when I really got interested in the underground music culture and electronic music. I was hooked right after I attended my first gig in Birmingham which was a live Simian Mobile Disco concert. I got a 2 year work permit after I graduated so I moved to London and gave myself some time to look for a job in music. There were a lot of opportunities but it was all free work in the beginning which wasn’t possible for me because the city is so expensive. So I ended up at a digital marketing agency with clients that I had absolutely no interest in but met the best people and really enjoyed the work environment (We had a rooftop bar in our office and subsidised prices on drinks ;)). However I dabbled with music on the side by working with a promoter company and did a few odd jobs here and there to make some extra dough. The highlight for me would be working behind the bar for a festival named Cocoon in the Park in Leeds with absolutely no bar experience, but these are the memories I have cashed up on and would relive them in a heartbeat!
Tell us how you started in the music industry and what challenges you faced as a new entrant?
Aneesha : I moved back to India in 2013 as there were some changes introduced to the immigration rules and I didn’t make the cut. My journey in music started out of sheer frustration of not being able to access the music I loved. There were few players in the game and although I did reach out to them, nothing really worked out. In hindsight, it was for the best. It was really tough for me to start on my own because I had financial problems at home and I couldn’t quit my job at that point. However, things fell into place eventually and in October 2013, we put together our first gig at Sitara Studio under the Regenerate banner. I think the challenges we faced as new entrants were, we were introducing a sound that was new to people and it’s not always easy to convince people to come out for your party even though they eventually end up having a great time. Also the music industry in India is cut throat, I really don’t think anyone truly likes to see the other succeed (it is the harsh truth) and brands are only work with the bigger players. I think they really need to do their due diligence on researching individuals and people who are contributing to culture. We just kept at it, no matter what...
Aneesha : Ah! Well my first internship out of college was at Vogue. The magazine had just launched in India and just like any other girl, I wanted to work there without even knowing if Fashion is what I wanted to truly pursue as a career. Working at Vogue definitely lived up to the expectation of how the fashion world is depicted in movies and I moved up from intern to a freelancer. However I quit a year and half into my role because I don’t think I was treated well and went ahead to pursue my Masters at Warwick University in the UK. That’s when I really got interested in the underground music culture and electronic music. I was hooked right after I attended my first gig in Birmingham which was a live Simian Mobile Disco concert. I got a 2 year work permit after I graduated so I moved to London and gave myself some time to look for a job in music. There were a lot of opportunities but it was all free work in the beginning which wasn’t possible for me because the city is so expensive. So I ended up at a digital marketing agency with clients that I had absolutely no interest in but met the best people and really enjoyed the work environment (We had a rooftop bar in our office and subsidised prices on drinks ;)). However I dabbled with music on the side by working with a promoter company and did a few odd jobs here and there to make some extra dough. The highlight for me would be working behind the bar for a festival named Cocoon in the Park in Leeds with absolutely no bar experience, but these are the memories I have cashed up on and would relive them in a heartbeat!
Tell us how you started in the music industry and what challenges you faced as a new entrant?
Aneesha : I moved back to India in 2013 as there were some changes introduced to the immigration rules and I didn’t make the cut. My journey in music started out of sheer frustration of not being able to access the music I loved. There were few players in the game and although I did reach out to them, nothing really worked out. In hindsight, it was for the best. It was really tough for me to start on my own because I had financial problems at home and I couldn’t quit my job at that point. However, things fell into place eventually and in October 2013, we put together our first gig at Sitara Studio under the Regenerate banner. I think the challenges we faced as new entrants were, we were introducing a sound that was new to people and it’s not always easy to convince people to come out for your party even though they eventually end up having a great time. Also the music industry in India is cut throat, I really don’t think anyone truly likes to see the other succeed (it is the harsh truth) and brands are only work with the bigger players. I think they really need to do their due diligence on researching individuals and people who are contributing to culture. We just kept at it, no matter what...
The various roles you undertook since then?
Aneesha : About Wavlngth - started off as a touring company and now is a music and culture agency focusing on creative strategy for artists, production (events/tours) and content creation. The brand has a personal voice but most importantly I want to push the philosophy of like minded people sharing the same ideals as that is how communities are formed. And in this case the like mindedness is derived from the mutual love for music. I call the shots and I get my hands dirty, like really dirty so I guess that defines my role in the company. I don’t have an in-house team member but I work a great bunch of people who are experts in their respective fields and have contributed immensely to the brand. I only see this growing into a deeper and stronger relationship. To know more about Wavlngth visit the website!
About Official Humans Of Music - Humans of Music is all about stories... Every person has a story to tell but we wanted to bring to light the stories of musicians and music professionals because the highs and lows are all relatable and serve as inspiration and motivation for all of us to keep pressing forward. I run this with my best friend Nicky Ramnani who also DJs as Orbs&Zen. Everything that we have till date has been organic and we hope we get a platform or an opportunity to really amplify this project someday. Until then, as mentioned above we just keep at it. :)
Aneesha : About Wavlngth - started off as a touring company and now is a music and culture agency focusing on creative strategy for artists, production (events/tours) and content creation. The brand has a personal voice but most importantly I want to push the philosophy of like minded people sharing the same ideals as that is how communities are formed. And in this case the like mindedness is derived from the mutual love for music. I call the shots and I get my hands dirty, like really dirty so I guess that defines my role in the company. I don’t have an in-house team member but I work a great bunch of people who are experts in their respective fields and have contributed immensely to the brand. I only see this growing into a deeper and stronger relationship. To know more about Wavlngth visit the website!
About Official Humans Of Music - Humans of Music is all about stories... Every person has a story to tell but we wanted to bring to light the stories of musicians and music professionals because the highs and lows are all relatable and serve as inspiration and motivation for all of us to keep pressing forward. I run this with my best friend Nicky Ramnani who also DJs as Orbs&Zen. Everything that we have till date has been organic and we hope we get a platform or an opportunity to really amplify this project someday. Until then, as mentioned above we just keep at it. :)
What do you feel about the global disruptions in the music industry ? due the Covid pandemic. How you are handling it? And your guidance for artists to make through this pandemic?
Aneesha : To be really honest, I have quite enjoyed the lockdown. Apart from the fact that I couldn’t travel this year which is always the fuel behind my creativity, I still made the most of it and had the most creative year. From working on the release campaign for Tarun Balani’s debut EP 2° to signing on Kavya (who has been such a wonderful addition to my life) to executing our first merchandise campaign in collaboration with Everpress UK and Lovedeep Gulyani and bagging the BBC Asian Network residency and having released our 2nd documentary on Nyege Nyege Festival in Uganda - I have realised I want to do much more than just put out gigs. WAVLNGTH aims to be that disruption to the music industry doing one of a kind projects with LOVE and putting India on the global map across all its endeavours.
My only advice to all artists, pandemic or no pandemic - just put your head down, keep working and stay true to your craft. It wasn’t easy for us before pandemic, it’s not going to be after either. If you can showcase authenticity and believe in your potential, there is no stopping you even if your world is turning upside down. You got to trust.
My only advice to all artists, pandemic or no pandemic - just put your head down, keep working and stay true to your craft. It wasn’t easy for us before pandemic, it’s not going to be after either. If you can showcase authenticity and believe in your potential, there is no stopping you even if your world is turning upside down. You got to trust.
Tell us about your experience - starting with Regenerate to your position now ? As in, all the ups and downs that you faced? and what you learned from the experiences?
Aneesha : Haha! I could write a book on this one. So maybe I will just highlight the best up and the worst down that I have faced. I guess not everyone is lucky to have clarity on what they want to pursue in life as their career. Your job or business ends up taking up 90% of your time because you spend x number of hours everyday in office and your life pretty much becomes work if you are an entrepreneur. The fact that I love what I do, is the biggest blessing and is what keeps me going. I perceive myself as a creator and burn out is something that creators face quite easily. It’s hard for me to pause the breaks when I really enjoy what I do. A dear friend told me once to not conflate Aneesha with WAVLNGTH but I sometimes feel that is what I do. I think it it is important to keep aside some time for myself where I do things apart from music.
The biggest learning would be you have to accumulate so much strength to go through all the hardships that you are unshakeable as an island. My spiritual practice of Buddhism has been my anchor and has transformed my life and made me believe in my capabilities. At the end of the day I just want to make people happy and help them. So if I can bring good music to your ears and if I can help contribute to an artists career, I’m good.
Future plans of WAVLNGTH and for the artists you manage?
Working with Tarun and Kavya and with all three of us sharing the same vision really motivates me to go the extra mile for them. There is so much behind the scenes work in play and sometimes we make the right strategic move and sometimes not but we all want to be travelling around the world, doing what we do best and working with people that inspire us. As a manager, I want to make this happen where they can be global artists and not just Indian artists.
As for WAVLNGTH, I think the number of our events is going to reduce, but the ones we do will be very special. There is to much work that goes in for very little reward so unless I am certain that this is going to make the cut, I’d give the others a miss. The focus will be on creating that 360 degree experience where WAVLNGTH becomes your one stop shop for all things music. I determine to continue earning the trust and living up to it for all our followers and supporters. Open doors for international partners in India and make sure we get the attention we deserve within the international music industry/community...
Aneesha : Haha! I could write a book on this one. So maybe I will just highlight the best up and the worst down that I have faced. I guess not everyone is lucky to have clarity on what they want to pursue in life as their career. Your job or business ends up taking up 90% of your time because you spend x number of hours everyday in office and your life pretty much becomes work if you are an entrepreneur. The fact that I love what I do, is the biggest blessing and is what keeps me going. I perceive myself as a creator and burn out is something that creators face quite easily. It’s hard for me to pause the breaks when I really enjoy what I do. A dear friend told me once to not conflate Aneesha with WAVLNGTH but I sometimes feel that is what I do. I think it it is important to keep aside some time for myself where I do things apart from music.
The biggest learning would be you have to accumulate so much strength to go through all the hardships that you are unshakeable as an island. My spiritual practice of Buddhism has been my anchor and has transformed my life and made me believe in my capabilities. At the end of the day I just want to make people happy and help them. So if I can bring good music to your ears and if I can help contribute to an artists career, I’m good.
Future plans of WAVLNGTH and for the artists you manage?
Working with Tarun and Kavya and with all three of us sharing the same vision really motivates me to go the extra mile for them. There is so much behind the scenes work in play and sometimes we make the right strategic move and sometimes not but we all want to be travelling around the world, doing what we do best and working with people that inspire us. As a manager, I want to make this happen where they can be global artists and not just Indian artists.
As for WAVLNGTH, I think the number of our events is going to reduce, but the ones we do will be very special. There is to much work that goes in for very little reward so unless I am certain that this is going to make the cut, I’d give the others a miss. The focus will be on creating that 360 degree experience where WAVLNGTH becomes your one stop shop for all things music. I determine to continue earning the trust and living up to it for all our followers and supporters. Open doors for international partners in India and make sure we get the attention we deserve within the international music industry/community...
