Abhishek Kumar aka ZelliX started his career in music by creating mash-ups and remixes of popular songs. Soon, he started creating original music which struck a chord with listeners. Zellix is one of the new-age artists who have been brought on board by T-Series to create original music that can resonate with a younger, urban crowd.
In this interview, ZelliX talks about his latest track ‘Sabar’, collaborating with T-Series, journey in music, upcoming projects and more.
For years, you worked as an independent artist. How has been your experience of collaborating with a mainstream label like T-Series?
The experience has been very good so far. I have just started my journey with T-Series. I am really excited about what is to come next. We have a lot of big tracks lined up. It is an honour for me to work with a label like T-Series. It will surely help me reach out to a bigger audience.
‘Sabab’, your newest single released by T-Series, boasts of a well-shot music video. How long did it take to put this song together?
I made the audio track in 2021. It got done in a day’s time. After that, it took me some time to figure out how it should be produced and mixed. Once we finalized the audio, we started brainstorming on the video. We shot the video in 2-3 days.
You were 12 years old when you got into music production.
Yes, it all started in the year 2012. I was just a 12-year-old then. I started out by producing music. I was not a singer back then. My music was inspired by electronic artists I used to listen to a lot those days. Slowly and steadily, I improved my skills and started getting recognition in the industry. My tracks received support from all those big stars who were my inspiration at one point in time. In 2019, I lent my voice to a song composed by me for the first time. Since then, I have been singing all my songs. It has been a great journey. I learnt a lot through trial and error.
Your real name is Abhishek Kumar. What led you to adopt the stage name ZelliX?
There is no great story behind my name (laughs). One day, I was just sitting and having random thoughts in my head. Suddenly, I decided to have a stage name. Abhishek is a very common name and I wanted to have a name that would be uncommon and catchy. ZelliX is a name which came to me randomly and I decided to stick to it.
‘Chalo Chalein’ has been one of your biggest hits till date. It took you four days to create this song. Do you think this song proved to be a turning point in your career?
Yes! While making ‘Chalo Chalein’, I had no expectations from it. I made it when the world was dealing with the Covid-19 crisis. Everybody around me was feeling low and demotivated. I wanted to make something which would motivate people and make them look at the beautiful aspects of life. When the song received a lot of love from the listeners, I felt very motivated. A lot of people messaged me saying how it helped them cope up with the pandemic and all the difficulties it brought in their lives.
What are you doing next?
A lot of projects are lined up. I am trying to be a little more versatile in the music I make. I want to explore multiple genres as a musician. All the track I make are produced by me. I make sure each of the tracks I put out there sounds fresh and different.