Sodhivine – Ariose EP + Interview
I haven’t been this excited about posting an EP in a while. I just can’t wait to share with you Sodhivine’s beautiful EP titled “Ariose”, which was six (!) years in the making. Sodhivine, also known as Naanak Sodhi, is a producer living in Canada who has an extensive background in all types of music despite his young age. The EP includes six tracks: “Monk”, “Sunrise” featuring Laura Hickli, “Bubble Wrap”, “Glow” featuring Liz, “Clockwork”, and “Control” featuring James Thorogood.
It also covers a variety of styles like electro house, trap, and drum & bass, but works them all together so that the EP flows from one track to the next. You can support Sodhivine by buying the EP from Bandcamp, or you can download it for free from his Facebook at the links below.
I had a chance to ask Sodhivine some questions about his new EP, his background, and what the future holds for him. Read on below to find out more about this talented artist!
Let’s start things off with a little background of yourself, and why you chose Sodhivine as your name.
My name is Naanak Sodhi, I’m 20 years old, I wear a turban and I make electronic music. I grew up in India & Canada, and I’ve been involved with music and music making since my early days. My early influences include lot of hip hop and electronic music, with a dose of ‘bollywood’ (thanks to my family). I started making music in grade 7, and in grade 10, I had the chance to work on scoring a film that my friends were making (just for fun). That’s when I first had the chance to work on a ‘project’ of some sort. Throughout my school days, I had been a part of the school band – something that really helped my musical and orchestral sense. ‘Sodhivine’ was just something I came up with during the summer of grade 11 as an independent brand and project, playing off my last name ‘Sodhi’. Back then, I was working on original music with the band RGM, or Rendering Glint Music, releasing three EPs. The name just stuck, and I thought after 3 EPs it was the right time to move onto my own solo career. Now I’m a 3rd year engineering student making music on the side as my passion. I’ve worked with various South Asian artists, getting playlisted on the BBC and getting close to 1 million overall online plays for my music!
Has your background helped you differentiate yourself when it comes to producing?
I like to believe it does, haha. My experience in movie scoring and working with orchestras gives me a certain sound and feel – I like to make my composition have orchestral sounds combined with different types of percussion and flavor, something to shock the audience in a good way.
How did your “Ariose EP” come together?
Ariose is a project I had unknowingly been working on for almost 6 years, believe it or not. The track ‘Clockwork’ is the oldest, as it was composed back in 2008-2009 just as an idea. I further refined it throughout the years and released it in 2012 as my first ‘single’ when I decided to start my own solo career. My next single was Glow, featuring Liz, the lead singer from my band RGM, followed by sunrise and control, each having separate friends of mine as features (Laura and James). Both Sunrise and Control got a significant amount of online attention as they were featured on Dancing Astronaut and EDM.com etc. This helped me propel myself into my next single, Bubble Wrap, which was also picked up by various blogs. Monk was the last song that I had composed, and after finishing it, it just felt that I had found the last missing piece of the puzzle, which was to be the EP. I quickly compiled the songs together and went ahead with the release.
The EP covers several genres, such as electro house, trap, and drum & bass. Why did you decide to not settle on one style for this release?
I feel that music is music, and that I will be able to appeal to a larger audience if I create a wider variety of music. I aim for my songs to have musicality to them, regardless of the ‘genre’, if you will.
What was the inspiration behind your first track on the EP, “Monk”?
Monk is the newest of the songs on the EP, and it was made late at night when I was feeling really calm and relaxed (I know it sounds cheesy, but its true). I was saturated by so much ‘EDM’ sound at that time that I just wanted to step back and make something to relax and calm the nerves, while having an impact. Although the track is a trap based beat, I wanted to label it as an orchestral composition, having a grand feel.
What has been the response so far to the EP?
It’s been good! I’ve had a LOT of love from Reddit, and the blogs are slowly starting to talk about it! Lets see what happens in the near future.
How would you define “your sound”?
For me, the music comes first, and all the trends and “genre’s” come afterwards. My sound is based within orchestral compositions, while giving a flavor of dance music and hip hop. I’d like to bring the ‘groove’ back into music and aim to have a musical impact along with a sonic ‘bass’ impact, if that makes sense.
What’s the dance music scene like in Calgary?
It’s starting to take off. Last year I had the chance to play at Chasing Summer Music Festival alongside Tiesto, Above and Beyond, Krewella, Wolfgang Gartner, Tommy Trash etc., so it’s really turning into a hotspot. I’m hoping to get more gigs so I can really try to put Calgary on the map for electronic music! Lets see how it goes this summer.
What other producers do you gain inspiration from?
My favorite producer by far is Zedd – I love his outlook on music and compositions. He’s extremely skilled at composition while thinking outside the box. Musicality really comes first before ‘drops’ for him as well, which is why I really look up to him. Shave it up! I also really like producers like Flume, Dillon Francis, Arty, deadmau5, Mat Zo, and even Max Martin, who is largely responsible for many of the hits since the 90s. But again, these are just some of the latest artists I really enjoy. I love Fatboy Slim, Ultramagnetic MCs, Das EFX, and even James Brown! Trends can change, but compositions that sounded good will still sound good years from now, and that’s what I aim to work towards.
What does the future look like for Sodhivine?
My next big project is a feature length film I am scoring named Jewel Fools (which I am almost done with). After that, I’ll be working on more original music, hoping to get more listeners by the end of the summer. I would really like to make music for a living, and the only way to do that is to consistently make great music – so that’s the goal for now. In the future, I would love to collaborate with more people and get more ideas going – that’s where the fun is!
Favorite Original Mix Right Now: Kind of an oldie, but Big Ben by Ilan Bluestone is dope
Favorite Remix Right Now: Chromeo – Jealous (Dillon Francis Remix)
Last Track You Listened To: Dillon Francis’ EDC 2014 set
Favorite DJ/Producer: Zedd
Sodhivine – Facebook / Twitter
Purchase: Bandcamp / Free DL on Facebook