<p>For a music band that goes by the name Lost Stories, they recently made huge gains (and history) as the first artistes to be selected from India to be a part of the YouTube Foundry 2020, a global artiste development programme that gives emerging independent artistes a platform to build their careers, develop unique partnerships to create content and engage with fans around the world.</p>.<p>Now, here’s some Lost Stories trivia: They’re a two-member DJ/producer band. DJ Mag had ranked them #52 among the top 100 DJs in the world (2016-17). They are known for their unique blend of Indian folk sounds with electronic music. ‘Bombay Dreams’ with KSHMR, Vaseegara Edit, their official remix of Alan Walker’s ‘Faded’ and remixes of One Republic, U2 and Afrojack are part of their repertoire. They recently came out with their version of ‘<span class="italic">Mai Ni Meriye</span>’ a Himachali folk song as their first release through the Foundry.</p>.<p>Meet Prayag Mehta and Rishab Joshi. Both of them on the younger side of 35. Prayag is a B.Com grad from the University of Mumbai, who loves to travel, play video games and sports like cricket and football, when he’s not making music. Rishab is a self-confessed tech nerd who dropped out of Mithibai College while pursuing a degree, because of his calling in music. He lists walking around New York city and exploring speakeasies around the world as his favourite activities besides music!</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Family support</strong></p>.<p>Just how did they choose music as their career? Says Rishab, “I remember reading music tech magazines and deciding I want to be a sound designer for Korg, Japan. My father is a musician and I guess I just picked things up by watching him. I love the idea of putting sounds together to form a song and the fact that each one of us can interpret that in so many different ways. It was fascinating to learn that a musical idea in your head at 10 am Tuesday could take the form of a CD by 10 pm Wednesday. Prayag and I started to DJ for a bunch of friends, but I guess people liked our style and offered us more shows and that’s how we came to be.”</p>.<p>For Prayag, music came to him as a teenager. “I come from a traditional Gujarati business family and music was not a part of my life till then. I started experimenting on Fruity Loops DAW when I was recuperating after an accident. That was when I made my first tracks, one of which was ‘One Last Time’, which was played by DJ Tiesto on his radio show! That piqued my interest in electronic dance music and I knew I wanted a career in this field,” he says. Both acknowledge the role that family support played in helping them chase their dreams.</p>.<p>Music buffs in Bengaluru will remember Lost Stories from their gig at Sunburn last year. The duo admit to being blown away by the response the city gave them. “It was the first show of the Alan Walker tour so we didn’t know what to expect. We went on stage not knowing there were over 10,000 people in the crowd. As soon as the first track started, we heard them roar and I had goosebumps. It was one of the most mental shows we played last year! It was when we first dropped ‘Vaseegara edit’ too,” says Rishab.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Surreal feeling</strong></p>.<p>For now though, it’s the Foundry they are excited about as it is one of their biggest milestones. “We have ensured that we meticulously curate our sounds and visuals to tell our story. With Foundry’s support, we hope to add contextual elements to our YouTube content,” says Rishab. “To be the only ones representing our country is a surreal feeling and a huge responsibility. We want to produce music that strikes a chord with our audiences and enjoy every phase of this elite six-month programme, while learning and evolving,” explains Prayag.</p>.<p>The duo have an intriguing name for a band, but they insist “it was just wordplay that happened over banter.” “After getting featured on Tiesto’s radio show, I got some traction in the niche EDM circuit of India. Rishab and I met on an Internet forum for music in 2007. I felt our styles could be amalgamated to make a unique sound, which is what defined Lost Stories,” says Prayag, while Rishab adds that they initially bonded over discussions on the state of music in India, but soon realised they both wanted to take India to the world musically.</p>.<p>Lost Stories has produced ethnic electronica tracks since 2011 and is highly inspired by myriad forms of Indian music and instruments. “We want the world to appreciate that. Be it classical flute melodies or ethnic regional vocals, we believe that these offer our tracks depth and soul,” says he. Rishab adds that he grew up listening to a lot of Gujarati folk along with Midival Punditz, Talvin Singh and Karunesh, among others. “The folk vocals hit differently when you layer it with a 303 bassline or a warm Juno pad. To blend folk with electronica was almost an organic process.” That explains the interesting earthy and lilting melodies from Lost Stories!</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Freedom to choose</strong></p>.<p>With so many indie artistes now trying to gain a foothold in the industry, how do they get support? Prayag feels that independent artistes have more opportunities now and with the sheer number of streaming platforms and social media outlets, they have the freedom to choose the artworks, release dates, marketing strategies and visual content to their own liking. Like many other artistes who support social causes through music, Lost Stories feel very strongly about mental health issues plaguing the industry. “Our music video ‘Faking It’ was based on it. We strongly urge aspiring artistes to not give in to the pressures, but seek help” says Prayag, as the duo sign off.</p>
<p>For a music band that goes by the name Lost Stories, they recently made huge gains (and history) as the first artistes to be selected from India to be a part of the YouTube Foundry 2020, a global artiste development programme that gives emerging independent artistes a platform to build their careers, develop unique partnerships to create content and engage with fans around the world.</p>.<p>Now, here’s some Lost Stories trivia: They’re a two-member DJ/producer band. DJ Mag had ranked them #52 among the top 100 DJs in the world (2016-17). They are known for their unique blend of Indian folk sounds with electronic music. ‘Bombay Dreams’ with KSHMR, Vaseegara Edit, their official remix of Alan Walker’s ‘Faded’ and remixes of One Republic, U2 and Afrojack are part of their repertoire. They recently came out with their version of ‘<span class="italic">Mai Ni Meriye</span>’ a Himachali folk song as their first release through the Foundry.</p>.<p>Meet Prayag Mehta and Rishab Joshi. Both of them on the younger side of 35. Prayag is a B.Com grad from the University of Mumbai, who loves to travel, play video games and sports like cricket and football, when he’s not making music. Rishab is a self-confessed tech nerd who dropped out of Mithibai College while pursuing a degree, because of his calling in music. He lists walking around New York city and exploring speakeasies around the world as his favourite activities besides music!</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Family support</strong></p>.<p>Just how did they choose music as their career? Says Rishab, “I remember reading music tech magazines and deciding I want to be a sound designer for Korg, Japan. My father is a musician and I guess I just picked things up by watching him. I love the idea of putting sounds together to form a song and the fact that each one of us can interpret that in so many different ways. It was fascinating to learn that a musical idea in your head at 10 am Tuesday could take the form of a CD by 10 pm Wednesday. Prayag and I started to DJ for a bunch of friends, but I guess people liked our style and offered us more shows and that’s how we came to be.”</p>.<p>For Prayag, music came to him as a teenager. “I come from a traditional Gujarati business family and music was not a part of my life till then. I started experimenting on Fruity Loops DAW when I was recuperating after an accident. That was when I made my first tracks, one of which was ‘One Last Time’, which was played by DJ Tiesto on his radio show! That piqued my interest in electronic dance music and I knew I wanted a career in this field,” he says. Both acknowledge the role that family support played in helping them chase their dreams.</p>.<p>Music buffs in Bengaluru will remember Lost Stories from their gig at Sunburn last year. The duo admit to being blown away by the response the city gave them. “It was the first show of the Alan Walker tour so we didn’t know what to expect. We went on stage not knowing there were over 10,000 people in the crowd. As soon as the first track started, we heard them roar and I had goosebumps. It was one of the most mental shows we played last year! It was when we first dropped ‘Vaseegara edit’ too,” says Rishab.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Surreal feeling</strong></p>.<p>For now though, it’s the Foundry they are excited about as it is one of their biggest milestones. “We have ensured that we meticulously curate our sounds and visuals to tell our story. With Foundry’s support, we hope to add contextual elements to our YouTube content,” says Rishab. “To be the only ones representing our country is a surreal feeling and a huge responsibility. We want to produce music that strikes a chord with our audiences and enjoy every phase of this elite six-month programme, while learning and evolving,” explains Prayag.</p>.<p>The duo have an intriguing name for a band, but they insist “it was just wordplay that happened over banter.” “After getting featured on Tiesto’s radio show, I got some traction in the niche EDM circuit of India. Rishab and I met on an Internet forum for music in 2007. I felt our styles could be amalgamated to make a unique sound, which is what defined Lost Stories,” says Prayag, while Rishab adds that they initially bonded over discussions on the state of music in India, but soon realised they both wanted to take India to the world musically.</p>.<p>Lost Stories has produced ethnic electronica tracks since 2011 and is highly inspired by myriad forms of Indian music and instruments. “We want the world to appreciate that. Be it classical flute melodies or ethnic regional vocals, we believe that these offer our tracks depth and soul,” says he. Rishab adds that he grew up listening to a lot of Gujarati folk along with Midival Punditz, Talvin Singh and Karunesh, among others. “The folk vocals hit differently when you layer it with a 303 bassline or a warm Juno pad. To blend folk with electronica was almost an organic process.” That explains the interesting earthy and lilting melodies from Lost Stories!</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Freedom to choose</strong></p>.<p>With so many indie artistes now trying to gain a foothold in the industry, how do they get support? Prayag feels that independent artistes have more opportunities now and with the sheer number of streaming platforms and social media outlets, they have the freedom to choose the artworks, release dates, marketing strategies and visual content to their own liking. Like many other artistes who support social causes through music, Lost Stories feel very strongly about mental health issues plaguing the industry. “Our music video ‘Faking It’ was based on it. We strongly urge aspiring artistes to not give in to the pressures, but seek help” says Prayag, as the duo sign off.</p>