Bharat Kumar talks about crafting a “new artistic personality” through six tracks, featuring vocalists like Ayla, Aeria and Alia Faye
Anurag Tagat
Jul 29, 2023
Agra bass music producer WCKiD aka Bharat Kumar
Agra-origin producer WCKiD aka Bharat Kumar ushers in a darker and heavier side to his artist persona with his debut EP WICKED, which he says also marks a transition from future bass to all-out bass music.
In the works for about 18 months, the producer started work on it in January 2021 even as he was balancing life changes – an ongoing engineering study course and traveling to different cities from Agra. “It was a bit of a challenge but we did it,” Kumar says. Considering that he’s been making music since he was 14 years old – he’s now 21 – WICKED was about creating a cohesive collection of songs after a long run of singles and collaborative projects with artists from around the world.
Working from an original shortlist of about 15 tracks, six songs made it to WICKED. From atmospheric pieces like the intro “Hi” and the outro “Bye,” the producer builds a subtle link between each track, while also building up sweeping electronica for chaotic beat drops on songs like “In Other Words,” “Lay It To Rest” (both featuring vocalist Alia Faye), “On Fire” (with vocals from Aeria) and “Trust Myself” (featuring vocals from Ayla). The collaborators have all sung on WCKiD tracks in the past and the producer says he preferred to stick with these tried and tested voices for the EP. “While working on the tracks, I can immediately imagine in my head who would sound good on which track, and for a big project like this I was kind of skeptical to experiment with new singers,” he adds.
As WICKED progresses, it’s clear that Kumar’s lethal way with bass drops and stabbing synths just keeps getting more intense. He says that his main goal with this EP was to “give a soft reboot to the WCKiD project.” He adds, “What I wanted to do was showcase what I have learned and how my journey has been till now in my musical career [and] how I have evolved as an artist.” Along with the sonics of the EP, Kumar says he also redesigned his logo and color themes, taking on co-creating the artwork with visual artist Outshades. “I am happy that the vision I had in my head got nailed down exactly as I wanted. I wanted that dark, melancholic and, to put it in one word, ‘wicked’ sound,” he adds.
The allure of making heavier music, according to the producer, is that it leaves room for sound design, experimentation and resampling. “But still, you’ve got some chiller and melodic elements in there too to keep the wicked vibe going,” he says.
With his debut EP out now, Kumar wants to take it to the clubs, with either live or DJ sets. “I’m excited with the future of bass music in India, as we now have teams like the Neckwreck Crew and even Music High Court Showdown, who are working so hard to get international bass music artists in India to perform and I hope I can play with them too one day,” he adds.
Listen to ‘WICKED’ EP below. Stream on more platforms here.
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