MUMBAI:  Aniket Vidyadhar aka Blent is a Mumbai based music producer and game designer. He produces sample based electronic music under the alias of K/D/A. He is also a massive Chelsea FC fan and plays way too much DOTA2 than he should. Recently he came with a wonderful release under an independent label Nrtya.

He explains about the release, “Having gotten out of a short lived but significant relationship, I really needed something to hold on to. Something to keep me focused.  And as such, working on All Paths Lead To Conflict was just that. I chose to sample the Zither and the Gayageum- instruments that produce bright sounds and created melodies out of them. These zen like melodies were then juxtaposed with a mean bass line with retro synths acting as connective tissue. The title - All Paths Lead To Conflict is actually sampled from DOTA2. One of its characters- the Spirit Breaker keeps saying it.”

His interest for music production started before he was working with The Humming Tree Bangalore as in house DJ. He says, “I used to work as a game designer at Zynga, Bangalore. I'd gotten into music production as a hobby around then. I think this must've been about four years ago. I used to sit in coffee shops with my laptop and headphones post work. I'd play around with music production software such as Ableton Live and Adobe Audition.”

He was always given creative freedom at The Humming Tree during my residency there. He could play whatever he wanted. Looking back, he says, “I feel my time there helped me mature into a better DJ and producer.”

He is a real inspiration for youth of the country who are going through dark phase. He has braved some dark times. He shares, “Around mid 2016, I'd shut shop as Blent. And soon after, I let my bipolar disorder get the better of me. Though I wouldn't recommend this to anyone, in a way, letting the world come crashing down on me sort of rescued me from a rut I'd gotten into. I spent some time away from music to discover little joys in life. I'd rediscovered my passion for videogames. Around February 2017, having gotten a grip over my illness, I'd resumed making music, this time in a better state of mind. That I'd fallen in love around the same time also motivated me in me musical endeavors.” 

There’s a story behind his stage name Blent which he does not like to reveal. He says, “I’d prefer not to talk about Blent. It's in the past and there's too much emotional baggage associated with it. I'd rather talk about the present. I currently operate under the alias of K/D/A. It's a gamer term primarily associated with Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games such as DOTA2- a game that's very much an important part of my life.”

Aniket looks forward to further experiment with tempos usually associated with house music as well as footwork. He says, “Whether that will materialize into a full length album or a couple of EPs, only time will tell. A music video is also planned for collaboration with Mumbai based producer Barasingha.”

Listen to ‘All Paths Lead To Conflict’ here: