With over 26 years as a DJ and Producer Browncoat has made not only an impact in the EDM industry but a cultural impact in the underground India music scene. Take as a listen to my latest conversation with him as he speaks about his journey in the music scene.
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Mason Vera Paine and Browncoat Transcription
0:00-Mason Paine: Brown coat has been in the music industry for over 26 years. Find out how he stays motivated and the impact he has made in India developing the EDM scene there. Thanks for joining me. Browncoat.
0:13-Browncoat: Hi there, Mason. Thank you so much for having me. I’ve been really looking forward to this conversation. Really happy to be here.
0:18-Mason Paine: You’ve been creating music for 26 years. What first drew you into EDM?
0:24-Browncoat: While I wouldn’t necessarily call my music EDM, I try and make more deep house, melodic techno and house and slightly more underground than conventional EDM. And it’s been 26 years, but it’s still a struggle in India because India has such a deep and rich musical culture that it’s very difficult for anything which is non-indian to cut through. And that’s probably the main reason where I wanted to showcase more of the international and electronic music because that’s not what you get in still date. There’s not a single radio channel or tv show or anything which can be considered mainstream that showcases international music. And that’s the best part about it. You’re running against the tide and showcasing music that people are not used to. That was the biggest draw for me.
1:12-Mason Paine: So you’ve been going against the grain for many years. But when you first started in the scene, what genre did you spin?
1:19-Browncoat: In the beginning, it was just a fight and struggle with the venues to allow us to play international, be it top 40, hip hop, r and b, or even basic pop. It was just that difficult because everybody just wanted you to play what’s being broadcasted everywhere, the typical hindi film music or the punjabi music. And at that time, we would just be happy to play top 40s because that was the struggle for us.
1:42-Mason Paine: Wow. So you had a history of just fighting to be able to play certain songs in the style that you wanted to. But as of today now, what’s the particular genre that you spin nowadays I.
1:55-Browncoat: Play a lot of melodic techno, indie dance, deep house, progressive. That’s also because I produce a lot of these genres and it gets an amazing response from the floor. It’s really progressing beautifully and I love where the music is right now.
2:08-Mason Paine: What is the EDM music scene like in India?
2:11-Browncoat: The electronic scene in India is amazing. The crowd that turns up for our events is just beautiful. The response that you get from the audience is incomparable because I’ve traveled and played around the world and I still prefer playing to an Indian audience because they really give you their all when they’re dancing, the screaming, the shouting, the smiling. And even though it might not be the mainstream genre in India, but because they’re such a populist nation, a small fraction also makes up for big numbers. So the scene in India is amazing. You can ask any touring dj. The love that the dance flow in India gives is incomparable.
2:45-Mason Paine: You talked about how it was an uphill battle to be a dj 26 years ago and how now the scene is like, really amazing. But have you had to navigate any big challenges while promoting your music in India?
2:59-Browncoat: It’s a little tough because we still are a conservative society and clubbing and partying are still considered more of a western influence rather than Indian. But we are getting there. People are more open to it. Parents are a little bit more relaxed about letting their kids out for a dance event. So currently we are still good. There’s a lot of room for improvement. But I’m happy considering where we were 26 years ago, where I started to where we are now, it’s a good place to be. It’s fun.
3:29-Browncoat: It’s fun promoting events in India nowadays.
3:32-Mason Paine: I also see that you’re a producer. What drove you to production? And I’ve got to know, what was your first track you produced?
3:38-Browncoat: First track I ever produced was for a Bollywood movie called Mosafir. That was back in the early 2000s. My partner Nikhil Chinapa and my brother Zoib Khan and I combined. We were the first people to produce electronic music for conventional and mainstream Indian movies. So Indian vocals with electronic music, that was big step into introducing people to nontraditional Indian instruments and it was a big success. I think we’ve done some 40, 50 movies currently. I am producing under my alias Brown coat, where it’s mostly melodic, techno and progressive. And the next release is going to be home on Purified, one of my favorite labels.
4:17-Browncoat: Been working on it for months and it has some Indian influence in there too. Really excited about this release.
4:22-Mason Paine: That’s amazing you were able to produce Bollywood music. I think that’s incredible. As far as producing other types of music, have you done anything for another artist’s track?
4:32-Browncoat: As far as my memory goes, I don’t think I’ve ever produced for anybody else. I’m too impatient and I don’t think that’s in my nature to be basically producing. Making music is difficult on its own. Leave alone when you’re trying to second guess what the other person wants. So I’ve never really produced funny on it.
4:48-Mason Paine: With that said, tell me about your latest track.
4:50-Browncoat: Home actually started off as an instrumental. I had this amazing bamboo flute sample in my sample library that I’ve been trying to work on for a couple of years now. It just never materialized because the sample, on its own is so beautiful that nothing I would create around it would match that beauty. And it just kept being put on the back burner. And finally, when after a couple of years of trying, the track was finished. It was an instrumental in the beginning and it still felt like something was lacking. And that’s when I found the vocal for home and it was like almost match made in heaven. The final product.
5:25-Browncoat: It’s been amazing. The crowd response I’ve played out at a stadium when I was opening for Ben Bomber and it was probably the biggest track for me on the night. I’m really happy that it’s found home on Purified. Purified has been doing amazing work with regards to music. They’ve been releasing some amazing stuff and I’m really happy to be part of that family.
11:43-Mason Paine: You know? I noticed you have a really large social media following. Has social media affected your music at all?
11:48-Browncoat: I’m a little old school with regards to social media and it’s a province over artist. If it is up to me, I would happily just delete all of it and just play music and not depend on social media for promotions even. But unfortunately, it is important in today’s day and age and though it doesn’t influence my music much, but it does help me promote all my music because you get direct interaction with all your fans. And most of my fan following has been around since I produced a lot of Bollywood music and it’s just been continuing till now. So I’m happy that I have a decent following and I’m happy that they basically are reciprocative towards whatever music I’m producing. And they’ve been happily following me on my journey from starting as a Bollywood producer to where I am right now.
12:34-Mason Paine: With being in the industry for over 26 years, how do you maintain inspiration?
12:40-Browncoat: It is tough after being in the business for that long, to constantly stay inspired towards making the same music again and again. That’s why I think back in 2011 twelve is when I completely stopped doing volume production and completely made a switch toward this new moniker of mine, Brown coated. That’s when you challenge yourself in unlearning everything you know about music production, learning new techniques and it keeps you excited. And that, to be honest, is a secret that I’m still happy and successful in India because I keep trying and trying to basically challenge myself creating something new. Once you start doing the same thing over and over again, redundancy kicks in. I don’t think so. You can be excited for producing the same stuff for like years and years. The idea is to basically challenge yourself.
13:28-Browncoat: And that’s what keeps me happy to play new music, produce new music, just keep figuring out and finding new things to love. That’s just the basic idea of it.
13:37-Mason Paine: What are some of your plans for the upcoming year?
13:39-Browncoat: I’ve got some amazing music in the pipeline. I’ve been working hard towards producing a lot of vocal driven tracks all of last year, and this year is when they all finally see the daylight and the first one is releasing with Purified as home. There are three more releases with three amazing big labels and can’t disclose them yet. But I’m really excited for 24 because I’ve been working really hard towards producing this new style and they all are bound to release this year. I’m really excited about them. So 2024 might be it.
14:11-Mason Paine: Well, Browncoat, thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate you being here. And for those listening, where can they find more information about you?
14:18-Browncoat: It was an absolute pleasure. Mason, thank you so much for having me. It was fun talking with you. It just made me relive all my old memories too. Really excited about sharing all these thoughts with somebody. Finally, if anybody wants to follow me, my Instagram handle is Browncoat music. Same on Facebook, on Twitter. I go under my maiden name, Naved Khan, and really looking forward to basically sharing more music.
14:40-Browncoat: Thank you once again, Mason, for having me. I really wish you well. This was such a fun conversation. Really, really thank you for having me.
14:48-Mason Paine: This has been the Mason Vera Paine show. Thanks for listening.
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