NIKHIL BEATS
Hailing from East London, Nikhil beats is taking us on an unexpected journey seamlessly merging R&B, hip-hop and jazz with cultural influences from his Asian heritage. Collaborating with the likes of West London’s finest Finn Foxell as well as Neo Soul artist Safiyyah and heart wrenching RnB singer Ayeisha Raquel for his latest body of work, '3000 realms' we sat down with the multi-instrumentalist producer, to talk more about his journey in music and what plans he has next.
Listen to 3000 Realms EP below
“The concept of this EP came about due to all the incredible artists I’ve met over the years. Everyone had such different points of views and so many different ways of expressing it, yet we are all people from London. 3000 Realms showcases the immense diversity in individuals lives and is a means of asking the question, “if there can be so much diversity, then are the possibilities of what we can do in our life almost infinite?” 3000 Realms explains that the life we all live is so powerful if we know how to use it. I believe the seemingly mundane or “normal” parts of life have immense potential too.”
How did you first get into producing?
I’ve been playing instruments since I was quite young, my dad played the piano and my granddad introduced me to the tabla, the Indian drum so I used to play around with that. I was also in a band and played the guitar as a kid. Then I studied music in university, that’s when I became more exposed to the studio life and putting all my elements of playing different instruments into production.
What was the first beat you made?
I first started writing music from about the age of twelve or thirteen but the first time I actually made a beat was only a few years ago and it was actually drum and base inspired. I sent it to a really close friend of mine and he was like “this is what you should be doing”, that was the first time anyone heard my music.
How have you found life during this pandemic?
Surprisingly it’s been good. There were points during the year when it was quite difficult and I think for a lot of people 2020 was just a deep year of reflection, but overall I think I dealt with it pretty well. I started making the EP during lockdown so I managed to do something productive with it, but there were definitely struggles along the way.
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Where do you see yourself in the next year?
In terms of my music career, the plan is to keep moving forward with it. I have a lot of things planned at the moment, I want to keep releasing music, keep working with more artists and just keep creating with more talented people.
Connect with Nikhil Beats
@nikhil_beats
Photography by Dave @g3negraphy