Wily Frenzy is known for his work as a record producer and a disc jockey. As a musician, he has worked on several popular tracks including ‘Zindagi’ and ‘Warrior’. ‘Yalgaar’, a track composed by him and written and performed by Carryminati, was used as the title track of the Abhishek Bachchan starrer ‘The Big Bull’.
In this interview, he talks about his journey as a musician, creating a track based on NBA champion Charles Wade Barkley, undergoing intense musical training and more.
One of your last released tracks ‘Bete’ was modelled on former NBA champion Charles Wade Barkley. What was the process of putting together this track?
One day, my brother and I were watching an NBA match together. While I watch these matches occasionally, my brother follows NBA religiously. While watching the match, I saw Charles and realized he had this crazy energy. He is like a beast. ‘Bete’ is the French term for beast. Once I named the track and finalized the theme, I started developing it further.
Your track ‘Yalgaar’ was used as the title track of ‘The Big Bull’. Do you feel happy about people in the mainstream film industry noticing your work?
Any form of appreciation that comes around is good. As artists, we want our work to reach out to a large audience. When our track gets used in films, a large number of people, who listen only to Bollywood music, get to know about it too. Having said, I don’t analyse these things too much. When I am working on a track, I try to make it with utmost honesty.
Your brother Ajey Nagar aka Carryminati is one of the most popular YouTubers in the country. You have collaborated with him on many tracks. Do the two of you discuss work at home?
Yes, all the time. We give each other feedback on our work and I think that’s very important. Carry is a content creator. He loves hip-hop music and freestyling. Sometimes, I give him a beat and he freestyles on it. We talk about things like what our next track should be like and what is the kind of experiment we should do next.
You studied music at Trinity College and Rockford. Do you think formal training helped you as a musician?
There was a time in my life when I didn’t have any direction. I just wanted to try music. I started with learning the guitar. My music teacher told me that I should sit for proper music exams. I was not doing anything else at that point, so I thought of preparing for them. It helped me a lot as I got to learn about all the important theories that are used to create music. All that education definitely helped me as a musician. The process of learning never stops. You keep picking up new things while working.
You real name is Yash Nagar. As an artist, why did you decide to use the name Wily Frenzy?
When I was in Melbourne, I came across this very interesting person. I used to perform as a DJ in several clubs and I would see him attending most of those parties. His name was Wily Wonka. He was crazy but in a good way. I was hugely inspired by his personality. Whenever I would see him, I would feel he represents the way I am internally. Wily came from his name and Frenzy refers to a state of euphoria. Music is that one thing in my life that makes me feel euphoric.
What are you doing next?
Earlier I used to be plan everything extensively. Now, I just go with the flow. Lately, I have realised music is a medium to express what you feel. I have now decided to create a track whenever I feel like. It should represent the kind of emotions I am going through at that particular point of time. One of my next projects should be with Cary.