Exposed Vocals Interviews ANAKHEMIA

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

ANAKHEMIA: I grew up in Saudi Arabia and then moved to India for a few years where I completed my formal education. I graduated as a dentist with big ambitions to get into public health and research, but I practiced for a very short stint as I got disillusioned with the whole thing. I’ve always had a love for music and coincidentally during the time I fell into dance music journalism, practicing at the hospital by day and talking to producers and DJs by night.

I didn’t decide to become an artist. We are all born artists. At any given moment in time we are all creating the realities and illusions of life. Just to have been given the power to procreate another life itself, the Great Artist or God as most popularly known as, has given us a glimpse into him and her self, which says a lot. Although I’ve enjoyed writing I felt that language was somehow limiting in a sense you know, but music transcends language itself. It emotes in a way language never can, and I’ve always felt its greater power over me more than anything else in my life. Since school I’ve dabbled in songwriting, played the drums on and off and somehow I’ve now come full circle creating music and DJing.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

ANAKHEMIA: Some things are better kept as secrets, aren’t they?

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

ANAKHEMIA: Last year, I released my debut single, The Prophecy, and I put it out for free. I was testing waters and must admit I was being influenced by the trends followed by artists and promoted by music marketing gurus. But as I learn more about the music business each day, I realize that we have a responsibility to make better decisions that influences the entire music community at large.

I was recently on a flight from London to Ibiza and I was sat next to the CFO of a very popular DJ sets streaming platform. During our conversation he proceeded to tell me how music must be used as a free promotional tool as there’s only so much innovation happening in music anyway with only so many musical scales and chords to work from. That opinion held by someone who is representing a music brand which is making money off of the very music he seemed to be having certain ideas about says something.

People argue that everything is a remix. We are remixes of our ancestors but that doesn’t mean we don’t have our own unique individualities, right? The same goes with musical expression. I have nothing against choosing to release music for free, there may be some marketing value in that but now we’ve reached a point where electronic music producers are forced to choose an alternative career or gig as DJs because they cannot sustain themselves fully with production.

We have to learn to look ahead and not just think about short-term goals that may unknowingly short-change other fellow artists who are trying to make a living out of their work. If this world is still facilitated by money, then musicians/producers don’t have to be the last people in line to collect their dues for their work. How did we reach a point where buying music has become a sort of rare novelty? There is no short and easy answer to this drama but what I’m saying is that there has to be an easy, fair, and transparent framework, representation and legislation for artists to get paid for their work if there is a market for it. Artists have to win their respect back, piracy needs a bigger war declared on not innocent people living in unfortunate nations, and music needs to be better again. We must, in Don Quixote’s words: “fight for the right, without question or pause”

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

ANAKHEMIA: As we push ourselves to the next level, at every such point we’re all start-ups, haha. I haven’t focused much on gigging to be giving advice, but I’m a huge believer in self-starting. I think that it’s better to build your own nights if you’re a DJ or book your own gigs at friends’ homes if you’re a band to gain support and confidence. I literally cold-called venue managers and promoters. That’s how I scored my first DJ gig. I believe there are no rules to anything. As far as airplay goes, produce a crazy record maybe and get a really good radio plugger.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

ANAKHEMIA: Your question reminds me of this one gig where I decided to manually beat-match on my DJ set. No one in the crowd realized I was trying to catch up with an incoming track, it was personally challenging for me and we were all having fun anyway, but one of the other DJs in the booth was aghast and implored me to immediately switch on the sync button. For someone like me who is obsessed with perfection it was such a revelation. We are becoming less and less tolerant of imperfections especially with the advent of technology that allows us to pursue near-perfection in performance. Sometimes while curating my monthly mixtapes I rehearse to death and even then it annoys me to realize there were mistakes made by less than an inch. I’m slowly learning to make peace with that. Seeking perfection is a virtue, but believing you can achieve it, a fallacy.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about? 

ANAKHEMIA: I really am thinking of booking a tour in the near future to support new releases as until now I’ve only been doing one-off gigs. I’d love to come back to you with interesting tales to tell in the coming future.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

ANAKHEMIA: It could be anything mundane and ordinary which can suddenly appear extraordinary to me. The magic lies there.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

ANAKHEMIA: Everything is aggregated on my website www.anakhemia.com and supporters can choose a social media channel of their liking to keep up with my upcoming projects.

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

ANAKHEMIA: I don’t listen to embarrassing music, by which you mean cheesy dumbf**k music maybe?

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it? 

ANAKHEMIA: I’d rent a secluded hilltop villa in the Mediterranean to work on music. What could be better than having the spirit of the sea to inspire you? I’d spend another portion to fund medical research into the harmful effects of mass fluoridation of drinking water. The rest would go into investing towards a music school for the youth in Kashmir.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

ANAKHEMIA: I work on a very simple set-up that runs a digital audio workstation (Logic Pro X) and a beautiful pair of DT 770 Pro studio headphones by Beyerdynamic that were recommended by composer/producer Dean Coleman. I like the ability to instantly create music anywhere so yeah, soft synths are like a dream! In that sense I’m completely electric at the moment. But I’d love to add a vintage mini Moog synthesiser to my current rig. I’ve used one before and love the way he purrs and all the sounds he makes. He’s such a keeper I’d like to buy him!

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

ANAKHEMIA: I’m a person who is stimulated visually and I love art and design, so I’m digging the potential Instagram has. I’ve started using the platform to share some of my original music running as the background score to my photos and videos, and I’m really loving the experience.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why? 

ANAKHEMIA: Back-to-back DJ sets with Trentemøller, Gesaffelstein and Tim Exile all in one night at this secret cave location in Ibiza, with the stars and sea in view. And if somehow I could summon Jim Morrison from the other side to grace us with his electric voice, that would be a night the heavens will remember, I imagine!

I love artists who dare to create their own box and these artists have gone above and beyond themselves. To perform alongside them would be a dream come true.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

ANAKHEMIA: There are some very exciting creative projects intersecting fashion, music and art that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time and are now in their seedling stage. The best thing to do is join the newsletter on www.anakhemia.com for all the exciting conversations that happen there with the tribe and the exclusive announcements.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing? 

ANAKHEMIA: Join politics, maybe?

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

ANAKHEMIA: My memory is foggy about the first record I ever bought, but I do remember the first record I ever heard. It was ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson. My mum would play all her favorite music in the car when we’d go out shopping and I was about 6 years old, and that song really left such an impression on my young psyche. I can still remember that very moment, where we were going and what street we were on and how I felt when I first heard it. I also remember watching the music video many years later and thinking, ‘man I want to make music.’ “That song for me was just so visceral, so powerful, so badass”

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

ANAKHEMIA: I’m still learning

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016? 

ANAKHEMIA: A new EP with a music video supporting the creative project. It will I hope represent the many different characters of my artistic explorations. I believe that art should speak in tongues that don’t exist and reveal ideas and emotions that are difficult to express. All in all, it will be something to feel and talk about otherwise it’s just not worth it.