Satya continue their busy release schedule with the ‘Atman EP’, a maiden collaboration between label founder YokoO and US talent Atish. Based in New York, Atish has cultivated a devoted following around the world. As co-founder of the Manjumasi record label, he has created an outlet for other artists’ music as well as his own productions and his own work has found a welcome home on prestigious imprints including Anjunadeep, Kindisch, and Stil Vor Talento name a few. A perfect opportunity to check in with the main man…
Atish, a pleasure to have you with us today! How are you and whereabouts are you chatting to us from at the moment?
Thanks for having me. I’m doing great! I’m here at home in NYC, and I have a nice break between gigs. I’m also a recent father and we finally got full-time child care, so I’ve been furiously productive, which is a foreign feeling.
We’re pleased to be chatting with you ahead of your upcoming EP with YokoO on his recently launched label Satya. The four track Atman EP marks a debut collaboration from yourself and YokoO and sees your styles come together with deep and dreamy results. Before we get into the EP, can you tell us a bit about how you and YokoO first crossed paths?
I had been following YokoO’s productions way back since 2013, but we first met when we played B2B in Miami a couple years later for Do Not Sit. We had a quick chat before the gig over the phone, and it was the first time I had played b2b with someone before meeting them. Megan and Behrouz made a prescient call on that pairing, since the gig went wonderfully. We played a longer b2b set again in San Francisco and have remained friends ever since.
What was it that first brought about this collaboration?
I was working on some tunes deep in the pandemic in 2020. I had really enjoyed the sonic direction YokoO had been going particularly in his grooves, so I sent over some of my ideas to see if he’d want to run with them. His music really walks the line between percussive sophistication and emotional melodies perfectly, which aligns very much with music I enjoy, so YokoO felt like the ideal fit as a collaborative partner.
Can you tell us a bit about the creative process behind this EP and what it was like working on it together?
The whole process was incredibly simple and enjoyable. After I sent my tunes over, he came back with nearly completed works. It’s normal for collaborations with other artists to have weeks of feedback bouncing back and forth, but everything just clicked right away with YokoO. There was very little to discuss, which is a testament to our alignment in sensibilities. I definitely would be happy to work with YokoO again on future projects.
Rominimal mainstay Sepp lays down a wicked remix for this EP too. What was the process behind Sepp being selected and what did you make of his remix?
Satya definitely has a foot in the rominimal movement, and Sepp has been smashing it with his releases in the world. His remix pushed Words to Say in a more driving direction, which I was happy to hear. I always think remixes give an opportunity to help a release function in new ways, which is exactly what he did here. That bassline storms!
We’d love to chat a bit about your label, Manjumasi. Launched in 2016, the label has thus far welcomed the likes of Rodriguez Jr., Tim Englehardt, yourself and more. What has it been like running the label so far and what’s in store from the label in the near future?
I’m happy to say running Manjumasi with my label partner Mark Slee has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my musical journey. A big reason I’ve enjoyed it so much is because we intentionally position ourselves as a boutique label, as opposed to trying to become a mega label topping the charts with releases every couple weeks. This approach lets us focus most of our energy on the curation aspect of the label as opposed to feeling preoccupied with building a brand and feeling like a business. Because we are a small operation by design, we’re able to focus on developing relationships and friendships directly with the artists, which is critically important to me to derive satisfaction in my work (and life!)
Looking ahead, I’m wrapping up a collaboration EP with a brilliant up and coming artist from India, Vridian. We’re also assembling another EP from Mark Slee and have started the process on another vinyl release with Birds ov Pardise.
Aside from DJing, producing and co-running Manjumasi, you have also taken on the role of somewhat of a mentor in the scene to aspiring artists, particularly through your YouTube channel which is filled with content offering your insights on the way the music scene works, DJing and more. Can you tell us a bit about this?
Throughout my journey, I’ve been fortunate to have mentors helping me along the way like Lee Burridge and Behrouz. I realize not everyone has access to industry professionals to give feedback, strategize, or even just provide a shoulder to cry on when things go wrong, so I started the YouTube video series to share as much of my own knowledge to help fill that void.
More importantly, I started an Artist Mentorship Program through Patreon where I do monthly sessions with up and coming artists to offer any insight I can to help them with their journey. This has been an incredibly rewarding dimension of my music world. I love helping others succeed, and similarly to running Manjumasi, I’ve been able to build close relationships with great people which lifts me up. The world of a solo artist can be a very lonely one.
Lastly I started up a monthly Discord Demo Day livestream where a guest and I listen through demo submissions from anyone in the community and critique them in real-time. As mentioned above, not all artists have access to industry professionals to help them move forward, so I provide this platform to make industry-level feedback within arm’s reach. I love doing these livestreams and I’m happy to make myself as available as I can to motivate and excite others.
Thanks for your time today Atish and great speaking with you. Congrats on the latest release and all the best to you going forwards. To finish off, is there anything else upcoming from yourself that you’d like to share with us?
As mentioned above, I have a collab EP that I’m wrapping up with Vridian. I hope for that to come out early 2022. Other than that, the next few weeks I’m hyper focused on making music at home and enjoying time with my family until the madness of New Year rolls around!
YokoO & Atish – Atman. Released out now on Satya Recs
