Stoked: “Peak-time Techno With A Sprinkle Of India”

Already established in the Indian music scene, Stoked has recently been growing a fanbase beyond his home country. He’s the first Indian artist to headline Sonne Monde Sterne & Grune Sonne in Germany, as well as the iconic Rave the Planet (ex Love Parade). It’s therefore about time we asked him to Introduce himself.

Who are you?

I am ‘’Smoosher’’ aka Stoked, a techno DJ + Bitonal Agency / Label dude who thinks four-on-the-floor music and Smooshing are the solution to all of life’s problems. If you see someone with a massive grin behind the decks, that’s probably me.

Where are you from?

I’m from India, where the food is as spicy as my tracks, and the traffic jams are longer than my sets.

What do you sound like?

Peak-time techno with a sprinkle of India. That’s my vibe.

Why should we follow what you’re doing?

Because I am the Techno Meme Smoosher, your playlist deserves a workout, and I promise to make your speakers sweat.

Plus, you don’t want to miss out on the Bitonal ‘’Dual-Tone’’ Arena experience – it’s like an audio-visual festival and a Bollywood dance-off had a baby. Ok, I’m kidding. It’s all techno, but you get the point.

Which of your tracks sums you up? Why?

‘Sirens’ – it’s got haunting ethnic vocals by Chitralekha Sen, and a peak time techno vibe that screams “let’s smoosh until we drop.” It’s me in a nutshell.

What have you got coming out in the near future?

By the time this is published my Ep ‘Sirens’ on Bitonal Records will be out! But down the line… a collab with Ronnie Spiteri including a remix by Alan Fitzpatrick on Kenja Records & my EP Bambalayoo on Rafael Cerato’s label Ritual.

What or who is your biggest influence and why?

I have a few names. The top three would be Adam Beyer, Pan-Pot, Monika Kruse because they have built an ecosystem that is home to so many talented artists to grow and be inspired by each other.

Peak-time techno with a sprinkle of India. That’s my vibe.

How did you get into DJing/producing to begin with?

After I watched Fatboy Slim’s 2002 performance at Brighton Beach, I knew then that that’s what I was going to do for the rest of my life.

What are three things on your studio shopping list?

• A good quality back massager
• A coffee machine that never runs out
• More synths – you can never have too many

Who or what have you sacrificed for your art

I value my sleep, my mom’s sleep, my freedom, being broke half my life, and my neighbour’s sanity.

What’s been your favourite place to play so far?

That would be the Seayou Festival in Freiburg, Germany. You have to check it out. I will be headlining there again on July 19th.

Where can we hear your music?

Hear me across all major streaming and download platforms from Spotify to Soundcloud to Beatport. Oh yes and now YouTube as well.

What one song would feature on the soundtrack to your life?

That one soundtrack would be ‘’Gonna Fly now’’ by Bill Conti.

What motivates you?

The quest for perfection, although no one will achieve perfection. But along the way to perfection we will experience excellence at some point.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

Out of the myriad things that are interesting about me, the one thing that is most interesting is that I make the best Aglio Olio in the world.

Complete this sentence: At heart I’m just a…

I am just a Smoosher at heart.

What’s the best bit of advice you’ve received?

It was my dad; when I was 5 or 6 years old, he looked me straight in the eye and said, “Champ, the only thing between a person and excellence is discipline.”

Where will you be in five years’ time?

This journey has been amazing so far, although I am nowhere close to where I am supposed to be. I really love the progression and I see myself at least 10x more than what I am today five years down the line.

Stoked’s ‘Sirens’ on Bitonal Records is out now. Listen/buy on Beatport.

Find Stoked on Instagram and YouTube.

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