Gurbax Talks Evolution, Latest Song ‘Dirty South’

When producer Kunaal Gurbaxani aka Gurbax landed in Atlanta from Bengaluru in 2009, he was a metalhead. He says, “I’d say the first four to six months of me landing up in Atlanta, I just spent at every single metal show I could possibly go to.”

It was soon after he began studying in Atlanta that Gurbax developed a keener listening sensibility for electronic music, starting first with electronic act Pretty Lights. “There were elements of hip-hop, elements of jazz and rock music all fused into this package that was electronically produced. That blew my mind,” he says.

Gurbax, 28, returned to Bengaluru after a few years and says both cities and their respective music cultures have helped introduce and grow his passion for becoming the artist he is. He points out how his studio space shares a wall with a temple. “All the sounds that are around Bangalore have subconsciously been inspiring me as I grew up,” he says.

His latest song “Dirty South” – a collaboration with American experimental/electronic act Beats Antique – seems to come from exactly that space. Sampling nadaswaram and bass-heavy beat patterns which build up and break, “Dirty South” released in late June and would likely make every pair of feet on the dancefloor move with three minutes of hectic-paced energy.

Gurbax’s previous collaborators include everyone from rapper Dee MC (“Aatank”) to producer Mr. Doss (“Aghori”) and more, although he’s stood leagues above with unshakeable bangers such as “Boom Shankar” and “Lucid Fuck,” the latter being part of his 2017 debut EP Heady Cuts. The producer is straightforward to admit that he’s “not good at everything” when it comes to creating music. He adds, “There are certain parts of my knowledge where I reach a limitation when it comes to music making. So for me, it’s reaching out to people that are filling in those gaps, whose strengths are my weaknesses.”

Turns out 2020 is a transition year for Gurbax in one sense of the term. The producer is leaning towards making more “vocal centric music” this year. “I have a lot of music that is coming out this year, a bunch of singles and an EP,” he says. In tandem, there’s a new single featuring Punjabi singer-rapper Jasdeep Singh aka Burrah. “I’m always drawn to making something Indian, but that’s not all that I make. There’s another hybrid English-Punjabi hip-hop/pop record… It’s hard to put these names to it. But it’s all exciting stuff,” Gurbax says.

Listen to “Dirty South” below. Stream on more platforms here.