Beach, Sunsets and Music: Fake Tattoos on His Goa Inspired Track

Speak to a music producer and you will learn that, if there’s anything in this life that they can’t live without, it’s probably producing music. It’s the one thing that allows artists to vent out their troubles and emotions in their tracks, making them completely forget everything that is going on around them. It’s the dream of any music producer or artist to be able to make a living through music, doing what they love, and at the same sharing it with people and having them enjoy it as well.

Artists draw a lot of inspiration from each other as well, constantly evolving and adapting. Such is the case with Samprukt Mohanty, popularly known as Fake Tattoos, who draws his inspiration from artists such as Bonobo, Calvin Harris, Justice, Deadmau5, Zhu, Camelphat, MK, and many more. He believes that nightlife, music, and concert experiences are not just a big party. It’s an experience to get involved with the artists and their music, since music preaches freedom and acceptance of all kinds of races and
cultures. At Goan Insider, Samprukt spoke to us about how his journey with music led him to produce a track inspired by the vibrant community of Arambol. The excerpts of our conversation are below.

Tell us a little about yourself and your journey with music

I started playing electronic music around 2014. I wasn’t very serious and had a graphic designing job back then. I started making mashups and edits of EDM and House tracks as House music appealed to me. I started putting out those edits online on Soundcloud and other websites like demo drop. I had done an edit of ‘Traffic’ by Tiesto which got picked up by Tiesto and he played it in his radio show and Ultra Music Festival SA 2014. Back then my stage name was 5AMP, the first 4 initials of my name Samprukt.

Afterward, many international artists started playing some of my other edits too. After that, I started taking it seriously and I started producing even more, but original content. By 2015 I started doing residencies and by 2018 is when I started touring properly around India. As I progressed, I discovered my sound and my pull towards organic and oriental Indian and eastern music. Eventually, I released an album in 2019 called ‘Bloom’ that showcases my signature sound. The album has been featured on BBC radio (Asian Network) and supported by huge names like Clozee, DJs from Mars, Ritviz, Shishi, and few more names.

What is the inspiration behind your track Arambol? What genre is it in?

Arambol as a place itself has been the inspiration. The beach, the community, the practice of organic living, the skilled flow arts, the colors, and the music. I got obsessed with the sunsets as well. I experienced a sense of true freedom and inner strength in Arambol. The place has a
great energy.

The genre of Arambol is Deep House/ Organic House.

How has the response been from listeners towards the track, especially Goans and people who love Goa?

The local Goans have helped me so much with this track’s popularity. They have spoken about it, promoted, booked, and supported me so much with this track. Some of them have hula hooped, did some flow art videos too. I have made great friends because of ‘Arambol’. Every time I’m at a party in a different city, people who love Goa do want to know more about Arambol. as people who have travelled to Goa still haven’t explored this beautiful beach and community.

What inspires you and what makes you want to keep producing music?

It’s a rewarding job. As I produce more and more, there is so much I get to know about myself in other areas of life too. You can call it a gateway to understanding the purpose of self. Every time I evolve mentally I know the primary reason is because of creating music. Life is always moving because of producing music. I love that!

Are there any artists that you draw inspiration from — if so who and what sort of music?

There are tons of artists who inspire me. One of them is very popular in Arambol. His name is Bahramji. I also take a lot of inspiration from movie or TV soundtracks.

AR Rahman and Ramin Djawadi, the man behind Game of Thrones Soundtrack are to name a few. A lot of people have told me that my tracks tell a story even though it’s very club and vibe oriented. This may be because of the movie soundtrack culture that inspires me. Local names such as Anoushka Shankar, Midival Punditz, and some international artists like Bonobo, Calvin Harris, Justice, Deadmau5, Zhu, Camelphat, MK are
some that inspire me to blend in with house music.

How was your experience working with event curators in Goa? Tell us more about the events you have played

There was a boom of events and independent music culture in Goa before the pandemic which gave way to really well-curated music events. I could easily showcase my own style of music because of the supportive curators. It’s the best hospitality I have ever seen and everything is very smooth and professional. On top of that, with time, it becomes a very strong personal bond as well which most cities don’t have to offer.

I have played at Halloween events, Intimate Spaces, Hostels. Performing at a Hostel was a new and great experience.

Which has been your most memorable gig from Goa and why?

Halloween 2019 with Captain Martian. What energy! What a well-organized event!

How was your experience with the Kitchenbeatz Weekender in Goa?

It was another memorable weekender in Goa. Kitchenbeatz weekender was a collab between me and the founder of Kitchenbeatz, Candice. She has been organizing gigs at the Kitchen and various food and beverage oriented intimate parties for a while now. I found her on Instagram and we immediately connected and came up with the Kitchenbeatz weekender. We did 2 gigs over the weekend in January 2020, one was at Hopping Frog Hostel and the other was at a friend’s backyard lawn in Assagao, where at least 80 people through word of mouth showed up. We had local Goans, people from the USA, Australia, Russia, UK, Germany, Canada, all vibing, and celebrating this concept together. We would be doing more of these events really soon.

Any future Goan inspired tracks in the pipeline?

Yes! I have a track for my Goa Tribe and family. It’s going to be super tropical and organic.

Who are the Goan artists that you loved working with the most? If any?

Kid Next Door, Dwyane (AND), Shania Tashya, Achhra are a few local acts I love working with.

How can our readers stay connected with you and find your music?

They can message me on Instagram at Fake Tattoos. You can also find my music on Spotify

What are a few key lessons you’ve learned about producing that other aspiring musicians and producers could take advice from?

1. Trust your ears more than technique, Please!
2. Travel to explore and make your mind better. Trust me it works!
3. Don’t obsess over another artist’s art more than your own growth. Many artists I’ve seen have failed today because they don’t recognize their own potential and are more prone to talking about other people’s work.

What’s the process you go through in finding the perfect tune? Did you study with courses, learn online or just experiment?

For me there is no perfect tune, it’s the idea. If the idea defines me then it works for me. The idea doesn’t have to be a musical note. It can be a social cause or something that represents my community or people or anything. For example, ‘Rupaiye Wala’ is purely a social idea about greed, and the whole track was designed around that concept.

I’m not trained musically so most of my ideas come from rigorous listening. Maybe 100+ tracks a day at the bare minimum. Your brain gets trained automatically to understanding the sound and it creates the idea in your head. I learned online. Never received any formal coaching to produce music. I guess learning from random YouTube videos and loads of music listening helps you find your own lane of music too. It took around 5 years to find my signature sound.

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