Exron Exclusive: Hotel Garuda

December 20, 2018

Recently we got the chance to catch up with Aseem from Hotel Garuda and talk tours, music and the transition the project has seen of late from originating as a duo to a solo venture. It has been a huge year of changes and music for the Hotel Garuda brand. Check out our Exron Exclusive interview below:

Exron Music: How did you initially get into the electronic music scene and then eventually into producing your own music?

Hotel Garuda: Initially my exposure to dance music was limited to whatever Ministry Of Sound compilation CDs my dad had in the house where I grew up. I remember hearing Kernkraft 400 for the first time when i was about 14 and could say that was probably the first track to spark my interest in the field. Later on, when I was in college , I was a photographer for an EDM blog and got exposed to the newer happenings in the scene, and that’s what really took me by storm. I had then gotten back in touch with Manila Killa, several years after we first met in middle school, and he was the one that pushed me to take the jump into producing music myself.

Exron Music: Can you tell us a little back story on how Hotel Garuda began and how the idea for the project started?

Hotel Garuda: Like i said, Chris and I met in middle school, i think it was either 7th or 8th grade. Probably 8th since I remember losing every game of little league basketball that year. His family moved around a lot, like mine, and we both went different ways after that year, only to reconnect while both of us were in college. we got to talking again after some years and realized just how similar our tastes in music were. From there, it was really just a leap of faith for us to trust each other to make worthwhile creative decisions with our art.

Exron Music: Where did the name of your alias “Hotel Garuda” originate from?

Hotel Garuda: The name Garuda comes from the national symbol of Indonesia, as well as serving as a symbol for my own upbringing as an Indian Hindu.

Exron Music: Hotel Garuda has recently gone from a duo to a solo project, how do you think this will effect the future of the brand and the music?

Hotel Garuda: One concern we had for some years was that people listening to the musics may not have had the clearest understanding of what Hotel Garuda stands for and the purpose it serves in both our creative journeys. Since there were two of us, and we both loved music across the spectrum of dance music, we tended to play into our tastes and had a lot of fun with our sets. Though it was fun indeed, I think it confused our live audiences a bit because the music we were playing out didn’t always sound like what we were making. Moving forward, I think it’ll be easier to establish a sonic universe that Hotel Garuda can occupy, both in terms of live performance as well as in studio output.

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Exron Music: You are currently finishing up your Fall/Winter 2018 Tour, what has been your favorite part of this tour so far?

Hotel Garuda: Finishing up the previous chapter of Hotel Garuda with Chris, playing a series of huge festivals in the summer. It felt so rewarding to both of us after having spent the last four years working on this project together.

Exron Music: We are loving your newest track “One Reason” with Imad Royal and Kiah Victoria! What was the inspiration for this track?

Hotel Garuda: Around this time last year, I came to Imad with the idea of us doing a track together, and as we had been friends for a few years prior, it felt natural for us to get in a room together to create something from scratch. Around that time, my manager had shown me some of Kiah Victoria’s music and Chris and I were excited to work with her as well. In the session itself, Chris and I worked on the instrumental while Imad and Kiah crafted the lyrics and the guts of the song. It came to be that all of us have experienced the feeling of being in a relationship that we didn’t want to get out of, needed to get out of, but were still searching for reasons to stay in it. The feeling of wanting to stay together no matter what.

Exron Music: SNBRN recently put out a remix for “One Reason” which we also cannot stop listening to! You’ve remixed a track of his in the past, so was it a joint decision to have him remix “One Reason”, or was he just inspired by the music?

Hotel Garuda: SNBRN was one of the first names I put forward when looking for remixes. It just turned out well that he liked the original enough to go ahead with a remix, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.

Exron Music: You recently disclosed information about your personal battle with Epilepsy. You have created such a successful career in music despite any inconveniences caused by your syndrome. Do you think that this fact pushes you to work harder to achieve the goals you have for yourself?

Hotel Garuda: I try as much as i can not to let it get in my way, and for the most part it doesn’t. Motivationally, it serves to remind me that our time is finite and that I have to take advantage of every moment I can to push my art further.

Exron Music: You have recently announced your “One Reason Tour” set to launch this February and hit major cities in the U.S. throughout the Spring. What are you most excited about for this upcoming tour?

Hotel Garuda: Playing longer sets than before and diving into my library of disco and house cuts that don’t get played in clubs nearly enough! I’m most excited to share longer moments in time with my audiences as that’s what I want my DJ sets to be; rather than an hour and a half of 1-2-3-jump moments, I want to let the audiences lose themselves on the floor, in the groove.

Exron Music: Is there any upcoming Hotel Garuda news you can share with us?

Hotel Garuda: I’m working on lots of original music as well as remixes for other artists. Remixes were a huge part of my comeuppance in this industry and I’m having fun taking it back to my roots. It took me a while to bolster my confidence as a producer and DJ, but now I feel like I’m Tony Stark in Iron Man putting together my first suit. The concepts for my new material are being realized, and it’s something I can’t wait for everyone to experience.

Exron Music: We are so excited for the future of Hotel Garuda to develop and wish you the best of luck this year in all of your endeavors!