Young music composer Ankit Gupta aka Ankiie speaks about his musical journey with us.
Mumbai: Ankit hails from Punjab and most of his early years were spent there. His family and close friends played an important role in his musical journey. He says,”It was a family friend who introduced me to a recording studio and encouraged me to start learning recording and music production. I started my professional journey in music when I was just seventeen years old in Punjab. I worked as a guitarist and co-composer for several music producers. Gradually, opportunities kept coming my way. I began with small assignments and, step by step, my career continued to grow.” He adds,”I learned guitar, underwent vocal training, and studied keyboards and piano. At that time, there were no proper schools for music production in Punjab, so most of my learning came through self-study, experimentation, and constant practice. I genuinely believe that learning music is extremely important because it gives you conceptual clarity and improves your ability to compose. Even Hindustani classical music, which many people don’t listen to regularly, helps develop musical understanding and sensibilities.” Sharing more on his influences Ankit says,”
Initially, my biggest influence was Punjabi regional music. Punjab had a distinct hip-hop culture, and Honey Singh was at the peak of his popularity. I was also influenced by several regional artists. Later, I explored Bollywood music and eventually started understanding English music. Listening to Michael Jackson’s cassettes and tapes broadened my musical perspective and helped me develop my vocals.”
Ankit as a composer has worked with various music producers in Punjab and has gradually expanded his work into the Hindi film industry.
Sharing his biggest break in Hindi films he says,”One of my biggest milestones has been composing and producing music for ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, where I explored a fresh sound by blending Afrobeats and Tribal House music with Bollywood influences. ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ happened because of Mr. Anand Raj Anand and Mr. Firoz Nadiadwala. They discovered my music and felt the film required a completely different sound Afrobeats and Tribal House music. Since I also performed as a DJ, I was able to bring those influences into the film. I tried to create something unique by blending these international sounds with a touch of Bollywood. Ahmed Khan and Akshay Kumar also supported my work and appreciated the direction I took.”
The songs of the original ‘Welcome’ are still very popular. What challenges did you face while working on ‘Welcome To The Jungle’? On this he adds,”
The biggest challenge was creating something fresh and different while ensuring that the music still had a strong emotional and entertainment value. Today’s audience has access to endless content and tends to judge songs within the first few seconds, making it difficult to create music that has a lasting impact.”
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