Priya Shah

Getting Deeper is a Mumbai, India based electronic music blog run by Priya Shah. Currently at 16.4K followers the blog mainly pushes music with lush vibes, melodic intricacies and a sublime mind state, music that is meant for relaxing, feeling, sharing, chilling, groovin’, growing and reflecting.

With the main focus being on upcoming international artists from across the world, the recent “Resident Sessions” includes some of India’s finest artists who get a platform to showcase their skill set on a global platform. I had a great chat with Priya from going back to roots to where she sees her baby project heading in the future and it’s been a delightful experience. More power to women in the electronic music industry who are doing such a splendid job with their work. Over to Priya…

What was your first introduction to electronic music?

I was about 15 and living with my mother at that time who was a fitness instructor. We had a lovely studio apartment with a big, spacious studio that was attached to our apartment in Bangalore, which meant that I was quite exposed to all the music she played. My stepdad, who was part psychiatrist and part DJ at that time (he used to play for private parties) asked Mom if she could give him free classes in exchange for music. That’s how they met, and that’s how I got my first taste of electronic music. And while a lot of it contained ATB, Matt Darey kind of stuff, I also came across many gems that I still listen to, one of them being Breathe by Telepopmusik!

How did you come about conceptualising Getting Deeper? What was the main aim of the podcast platform?

I was quite a nerd while growing up (still am), not in an academic kind of way, but more of a digital nerd who always wanted to make websites or start a blog. I learned HTML and CSS by myself and that I was not only was fascinated by it, but I was also very good at it. I realised that I can only write about something that has held my interest consistently. I left my pursuit of earning money through blogging, and decided that blogging about music was the answer, simply because I loved it. I started a blog called Metaphorical Journeys, where I started writing about Ambient and Downtempo music (It still exists: www.metaphoricaljourneys.tumblr.com). Then I created my own domain name called Space Ambient, and eventually changed that to Getting Deeper.

Tell us more about your preferred genre of sound?

Ambient, Chill Music, Downtempo and Minimal Deep.

If you had to pick one GD podcast that would always hold a special place in your heart, which artist podcast would it be and why?

This is a very tough question. There are so many podcasts that have held a special place in my heart at the time that they were released: Tim Engelhardt, Inchange, Arkadiusz’ second podcast, Daniel Zuur, Evident, Simon Drosten, Vivid, Kunaal Gurbaxani and recently Lente‘s podcast.

What are your thoughts about people consuming electronic music in India today?

I love where India is today in the space of electronic music compared to where it was while I was growing up, and I am glad to be a part of the change. So many people have started absorbing such a wide range of electronic music over time, and while we still have a lot to work on compared to how it is in Europe, you cannot deny that we’re growing, and that in itself is quite wonderful.

How do you see Getting Deeper contributing to the electronic music scene in India?

I never saw what India needed and then created GD, I just created it because I wanted to share music, and purely music (and that’s how I want to keep it). There is no blog like Getting Deeper because every other music magazine/blog in India does a lot more apart from just music: events, articles, interviews, reviews.  I wanted GD to be an experience of listening, discovering and connecting. Getting Deeper, in itself, is an experience. it started as my experience of music that I wanted to share with people, and now it has become a community experience.

When it comes to music, which city gets it right?

I would say Bombay but also Bangalore for different reasons. Bombay has the vibe, the energy, the drive. But Bangalore has the soul, for many more years than Bombay. Bangalore has been doing music intelligently for a very long time in a wide range of genres (Psychedelic, Rock, Drum n Bass, Deep).

What’s next for Getting Deeper? Have you thought about starting a label?

Yes, Getting Deeper is definitely turning into a label sometime in the future, and maybe getting into the space of artist management as well, or maybe something completely different that doesn’t exist already! I am keeping my options open as of now.

Pick three Indian artists who would definitely make the line up for a GD party? And Why?

I like to work with artists after I have learned that they are open minded and intelligent when it comes to music. It is very important to me that the artists understand what I am talking about and understand what I want to create, someone who I know ‘gets it.’  So I would say Audio Units. I have had many conversations with Ashwin and Ashrith and even learned some basic mixing from them at their studio in Bangalore. I have to say those two have earned so much respect from me over the years. They have tapped into every aspect of the electronic space in India and done it so intelligently. I work with Trideep and I know he is more globally aware and invested. I have heard his music and listened to his productions, and I love it. I recently heard him play some deeper music and I have to say I love that style right now. I love, love, love Maitrai Joshi’s style. It’s deep in every sense that I want it to be, with a style that is unlike any artist I have heard in India. And lastly, it would be Blot! because his style is very much in harmony with Getting Deeper ever since the time I knew about him. He is without a doubt one of the more experienced Deep/Deep Tech artists in India.