Deva

Darrocha is an experimental artist born and raised in the Midlands, UK with a Northern Indian heritage. He began experimenting with music and sounds that intertwine the cultural influences that have impacted on his life for as long as he can remember. He began producing music at the age of 12 and was inspired to experiment with music while learning to play instruments of Indian origin; the dhol, tabla, dholki, harmonium and tumba. Darrocha's family background is inherently musical and his family in Northern India have been selling classical Indian instruments since before he was born. Darrocha said, ' I remember being given a mini-tabla by my uncle on his first visit to the UK when I was around 4 years old, everytime he came to visit us he bought new instruments with him, a dholki, a dhol, a harmonium, algozey and before you know it we had amassed this mix of instruments which I would always have a fascination with'. Growing up, Darrocha's mother was a big influence on his passion for music, she would perform devotional music using the harmonium and he would often listen to his mother's self written melodies in awe.

Later in life Darrocha was bought a keyboard as a present and began writing his own melodies for hours on end. Later, he translated this to music production and created his first EP of tracks under the name 'Fuson Virsa'. This first experiment with music resulted in a mix of electronic sounds, prominent ethnic melodies fused with the beats of the traditional drums that he grew up playing.

Continuing his musical journey, Darrocha brings together his musical inspirations from around the world; he is strongly influenced by the sound of Sufi classical music; the Qawwali sounds of Ustad Nustrat Fateh Ali Khan, the tala of traditional drums and fusion of Eastern and Western sounds that has manifested amongst new generation British Punjabis. He is influenced by artists who fuse beats, bringing together an eclectic mix of sounds to form melodies, the artists include Nitin Sawhney, Talvin Singh, Celt Islam, The Nasha Collective and experimental sounds from the underground; dubstep, drum and bass and electronic house. Darrocha is a massive reggae fan and is inspired by the vibes of reggae dub and the conscious lyrics of The Marley Dynasty.

Against the backdrop of these influences, Darrocha's music prominently features the sound of tribal and ethnic drums often composed in a Sufi'esque composition. The chords and beats of dub and reggae feature alongside these drums with ethnic melodies that have derived inspiration from his trips to Asia, the Arab world and Africa. In some of his tracks, there an ambient sound, in others, there are the power-ballad sounds of Arabic melodies mixed with African and Indian drums alongside the sounds of dubstep. He says, 'I don't really have a fixed style, one day I heard an Arabic track while in Oman that I really loved, when I got home, I hummed out an Arabic melody then threw it into a production with the sounds of drum and bass, I just love experimenting with the things I hear and like'.

Darrocha is on a musical experiment journey and continues to use his experience of ethnic music from the countries he has visited into his music. Darrocha is part of the Move Until Motionless (M.U.M) collective who are focused on developing a new sound which is not constrained by ethnicity or urbanisation. The resulting music is experimental, melodic and thought provoking with a conscious message

Deva

sushant