The dichotomy of Arjun Kanungo

As India continues to expose its music to a global audience independent music artiste Arjun Kanungo makes a pertinent point about the approach towards musicmaking ldquoI feel that an actual organic attempt to connect with the global culture is lacking Itrsquos almost like we say lsquoHere this is our music Take it and do with it what you pleasersquo Or lsquoHere this is the music that I made for you I didnrsquot make it for meI made it for you so you should listen to itrsquordquo says the musician adding that this approach ldquotakes away from the effort of trying to create global musicrdquoKanungo is responding to our questions on his decision to pick Japan and Japanese artistes for the making of an upcoming collaborative album He aptly confesses that the East Asian country has held an element of mystique for Indians but is a place where he has over the years set up a ldquosecond homerdquo of sorts ldquoI first went there in 2016 and now visit frequently My wife loves it and wersquove got a great bunch of friends there While I was on holiday I thought about doing a few collaborations It has the most enigmatic music industry on the planet but itrsquos not easy to access musiciansrdquo Apart from setting up a credible management team Kanungo had to navigate language barriers to build professional relationships ldquoBut after interacting with eight artistes whom we had studio sessions with wersquove been able to present some great tracks You have to genuinely invest your time and energy into building real connections with people and places Because we could forge such a connection naturally the process of making music was truly collaborativerdquoBefore this EnglishJapanese album is unveiled at the end of the year fans of Kanungo will get a glimpse of the set with his upcoming Hindi Album Industry 2 which releases in August Apart from featuring India to Japan created in association with Japanese music artist Cyber Rui this album is also touted as the first from India to be shot in Japan Kanungo makes a bold comparison when he pits Ruirsquos majestic presence to that of Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj Appearing earnestly impressed with her skills he describes the ldquopretty edgyrdquo rapper as one ldquowho has her own style and big energyrdquo Another track with Zaeden also features in this album and so does Destiny the first English track that he penned in 2010 However it is his release with Shirley Setia Sach bata mujhe that he speaks of excitedly Kanungo remembers Setia as the girl who asked him for a picture back in 2010 when he was a band member touring with Asha BhosleldquoSince there were few people who asked me for selfies back then I remembered the ones who did When Shirley began to become popular a few years later I remembered her We interacted and were subsequently in touch as industry colleagues are This was a track I wrote for her That was an interesting experiment for me because it made me gauge two things One if I could write in a nonmasculine voice and second if I could write a song for Shirley the avatar not the person When I thought of her I felt she is someone who is very trustingrdquo he says of the making of the song which was subsequently shot in JapanA conversation with the singer 32 reveals dichotomous personalities On one hand Kanungo comes across as a freespirited lad who only entertains opportunities that make him happy and enjoys the fame he acquires in the process He is easily humoured by innocuous situations like watching his manager ldquowho belongs to America where people are demanding when it comes to the work culturerdquo attempt to lead individuals in Japan ldquowhere everything is nonconfrontational and people are very politerdquo On the other hand he confesses to being ldquoacademicrdquo in certain ways digging deep into understanding what drives him as an artiste and encouraging his marketing team to ldquonot simply look at the cause and effect but understand the deeper patterns in the datardquo He may have turned down song offers some of which went on to earn millions of views he may have made choices that could have been detrimental to his career but as of this day ldquoI see that my peers are burnt out and I am not It makes me feel like Irsquove made some wise decisionsrdquoHis understanding he confesses determines how he plans to chart his career Now a mentor to 20something aspiring musicians Kanungo via his music label has been using his learnings to create a new breed of musicians whose success he says is as dear to him as his own ldquoThey grasp things a lot faster than I did when I was their age I wanted to experiment on these younglings and elevate those around me as well I tell them that the most crucial aspect that can determine success is attitude The second is genuine love for music and talent can be a distant third In todayrsquos day and age itrsquos not about talent Itrsquos about authenticity That is what makes you valuablerdquo