MUMBAI: Producers and frequent collaborators UpsideDown & ICONYK probably visualised this moment a dozen times, a decade and a half ago as teenagers, when they were working at a call centre in Ontario, Canada selling music CDs for Sony Music.
Cut to 2020, they have a song out on Sony Music, marking their first ever release on a mainstream label. Maybe, they were simply addicted to the idea of making this happen and therefore call it serendipity or wishful thinking that their peppy new single is called Addiction.
LA/Mumbai based pop-rap producer, ICONYK admittedly hated the track when it was first played to him by UpsideDown. “UpsideDown played me this unfinished track and I felt that it needed an Indian vibe so we experimented with Indian sounds and felt the sarangi gelled really well. But yes, it’s true that the first time I heard the track, I hated it, but later I realised, I was "ADDICTED" to it,” says Nikhil Malik aka ICONYK, who likes to think of himself as India’s Kanye West.
The New Age, Bollywood, Bhangra & Urban Music Producer & DJ UpsideDown has been working on the concept for over two years. "I was waiting for the right artists to collaborate with to bring this idea to fruition. Raashi blessed the track with her vocals and ICONYK’s production elements essentially made the song feel ‘complete’. Addiction is a fusion of traditional instruments and modern beats and we've tried to bring listeners something fresh and vibe-y,” says the producer who has worked a wide range of popular acts such as Zack Knight, Jay Sean, Arjun, Sonna Rele, Mumzy Stranger, H-Dhami, PropheC, Sahyba, Anjali World, Amar Sandhu, Jernade Miah and more. He’s known for his unique style that fuses Hip Hop, EDM and world music, taking it to a different level.
Raashi Sood is a Punjab-based singer who has been releasing tracks independently and has a distinct repertoire of music.
Talking about his nth collab (they’ve done so many tracks together, that the artists have lost count apparently) with UpsideDown, ICONYK says, "It's always a pleasure collaborating with UpsideDown. We've been working on music together for a few years now. When he played me this track for the first time, we both felt it needed an Indian touch and we're extremely happy with the final result. Raashi is a unique singer with really diverse music sensibilities and her hooks are extremely catchy. I hope the listeners enjoy the amalgamation of our styles in Addiction."