Dot. 

New Delhi-bred and Bengaluru/Mumbai-based artist Aditi Saigal aka Dot. has seamlessly woven her passion for music and acting into a career that is on the upward. Raised amid a backdrop of creativity, Saigal’s upbringing under the guidance of her parents, Shena Gamat and the late Amit Saigal, laid the foundation for her journey as an artist. Her father, affectionately known as Papa Rock within India’s rock music circles, instilled in her a deep appreciation for music, while her mother’s background in theater ignited a passion for performance. From her breakout viral hit “Everybody Dances to Techno” to her seven-track record Khamotion and most recently the 10-track Practice Rooms, her musical repertoire reflects her eclectic sensibilities and boundless creativity. Simultaneously, her foray into acting, marked by her debut role in Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, underscores her versatility and screen presence.  

Read our interview with Dot. below: 

Let’s revisit your early years when you began playing piano at a very early age. What was the kind of music you were exposed to? 

There were kind of two sides of what I was exposed to. Obviously, there was the kind of jazz scene from my mom and dad. They listened to a lot of classic rock and there was always cool stuff playing in the house. Then in school, there was a lot of talent shows and also a lot of Hannah Montana. Then as I went on, I think I kind of gravitated towards listening to all these singer-songwriters, Paulo Nutini and KT Tunstall and Fiona Apple and all these people who are kind of little bit jazz-blues influenced but who are songwriters. Since then, it’s kind of expanded. 

Like many people, I first came across your work in 2017 with “Everybody Dances to Techo,” tell me about what you recall at the time that song started getting attention.  

That song was kind of in the YouTube time of my life. I was at the time studying in Wales, doing my undergrad and I used to go for these open mic nights and cut my teeth. I had some originals under my belt, so I kind of kept writing to increase my set at the open mic nights and then I started putting them up on YouTube just as a random thing. It wasn’t really something I planned to blow up or anything. People seemed to like them and the algorithm picked it up.  

If I could ask you about your dad as well, because he was an integral part of the scene.  

When I was growing up, probably my first ever gig that I attended was a heavy metal concert in Delhi somewhere. I would have been five or six. Throughout, I never really was into rock or the kinds of things that he was known for. It’s funny because obviously everybody has this idea of him and how he was and they have a very warm relationship with him and they’re very fond memories, but my memory of it is entirely different because he was just my dad. That indie music scene never really happened for me at that point. I was at the gigs running around doing random things. I guess that’s pretty much it. I’ve actually written a song about it as well. It’s not out yet, but it’s kind of a little bit about this, this feeling of people knew him in this certain way, and I had a completely different understanding of who he was. 

As an actor, you starred in The Archies. What was that whole experience like for you? 

So ‘Asymmetrical,’ one of the songs from that YouTube time got picked up by Zoya. While we were having that conversation about the music, she kind of went, ‘Do you act? You look exactly like one of the characters. I think you’d be perfect for Ethel.’ So, I said, ‘Okay, well, I’ll audition.’ I’ve never really done it professionally. It was great because I don’t think I would have ever gotten into acting had it not been for that film, because it was kind of the perfect blend of the two worlds as an entry point for me because it was set in that era, which is very my vibe. The music of the 50s and 60s is me and my music was part of it. I got to learn how to dance and skate and do all those things. It was like a summer camp, pretty much, for two years. Everything feeds back into the music and the music feeds back into the acting, and it’s all the same. So, I’m exploring that as well. Now I’m kind of getting into the acting side of things and trying to balance both. 

You’ve collaborated with a few indie artists including Chirag Todi, what’s that experience been like? 

Before Chirag, I kind of struggled to work with other musicians because I was very isolated and I used to just sit on my piano. I wasn’t great at the teamwork aspect of it, I guess. But in the last three or four years or so I’ve made it a thing that I have to just get over myself and start working with as many people as I can and learning because I used to just get very intimidated. Now I want to work with this person and this person and in India, I get this sense that you can pretty much approach anyone on Instagram and they’ll be like, ‘Sure we’ll do a song.’ 

You put out your second album ‘Practice Rooms’ at the end of 2023, can you tell me a bit about that record and what it means to you? 

It’s all the old songs and I had been bombed with requests from everybody to put out on Spotify and on Apple Music. I never did it because I had this pressure on me that I really need to go into the studio and do them properly and have a band set up. The truth was my heart wasn’t in those songs anymore, I couldn’t sit and rearrange them and do all of that. The other thing is every time I tried to do that, the songs were just losing their charm and their initial sweetness. I think that’s what people connected with and I didn’t want to disrespect that, in a way, it was kind of don’t mess with a good thing that people already like. Those songs are the reason why I have a career. 

What are you currently working on and what does the rest of 2024 look like for you? 

I’ve been gigging around with my duo act right now. I just want to get a bunch of gigs in this year because I realize that I want to stay in touch with performing. The other thing is I’m working on my new album and it’s a big one. This album is a pull-out all-the-stops album, so I’m kind of sparing no expense. It’s kind of little bit Latin grooves, some Americana, pop and jazz. 

What according to you is the future of music? 

I guess there’s a lot of pressure putting out lots of stuff all the time, but I think the future of music, as far as I can see, it’s becoming more diverse with more sub genres and collaborations from across the world and different scales of music production. Now, pretty much anyone can put out a track. Things are getting diluted but also expanded. So, I don’t foresee that stopping anytime soon. I think that there will be some kind of a need for simplicity at some point.