Abhishek Kaushik, known professionally as Travellback is the music producer on the rise this season. Raising the temperature with his timeless melodies and groovy hooks, he has surely made a lot of noise in the industry.
At the age of 9, his parents gifted him a mini musical keyboard which became the turning point of his life. And so much has changed ever since! He wrapped up his education in music production by the year 2016 and meanwhile enrolled himself for training in western classical from Delhi School of Music, which is acclaimed to be one of the best music schools in the capital.
When asked why he chose this profession, he claimed that “I was simply curious, from a very young age, about the technicality behind music.”
Like his name suggests, he wants his listeners to be able to reminisce about the good old memories, where they had been overpowered with some sort of emotion. Which explains why his work is highly influenced by melancholic melodies, hard hitting drums and nostalgic chords. And it keeps getting better!
While explaining his journey in music production he said “When I first started making beats, most of them did not meet my expectations. To be honest, it became a really frustrating process at times, because I had to make everything from scratch and sometimes the inspiration was just not there. But some of the work did come through and I decided to collaborate with a singer. Soon we posted it on YouTube and that is where it all began. I think it was a good reality check for me, as it made me realise the areas I was lacking in.”
After his YouTube expedition, he landed his first major break in music industry for the song Gal Karke (Reprise) by Asees Kaur. He was the mixing and mastering engineer for the song which soon became a massive hit crossing more than 350 Million views on Youtube.
He has also worked with various renowned artists since then, including Inder Chahal and Karan Randhawa. Hasdi by Karan Randhawa was also mixed and mastered by Travellback, which has crossed over 24 Million views on Youtube.
About the incredible response that these songs got, he said “As soon as I heard that the song became a hit, I took a screenshot and sent it to my mom and dad. It was a really proud moment for them, I’m so thankful that they believed in me and never questioned my passion. It’s something that I strive for, to make them proud. I am also thankful that I continued my grind and didn’t give up, because the end result is gratifying and worth it.”
Circling the massive success of the songs, he improvised his skills to a new level and kept on making music with each one better than the previous.
After spending his sweet time as a mixing and mastering engineer he went ahead to grab the title of music producer with his newly released song Lyrical Rapper Dead in Ikka’s recent hip-hop album “Nishu”.
The song is an instant hit amongst the youngsters who love its funky basslines and old school hip-hop vibes. It is very unique from the other songs that Travellback has created in the past and when asked about it, he said “I don’t really want to shy away from making something different from what I usually create. It’s all about progressing and evolving. I’m a fan of both
hip-hop and R&B, I would love to get into more projects like this so I could produce something out of the box and surprise everyone.”
From listening to A.R. Rahman and Mithoon in his childhood days, to producing beats that have hints and melodies resembling the songs by The Weeknd, Travellback has come a long way. He has his own music studio in Delhi, equipped with the finest gears, where he spends most of his time coming up with new ideas for music. When he is not making music, he indulges in educating newcomers about production techniques.
“I’m really passionate about music and I’m still learning as I move ahead. There is so much knowledge that one needs to gain about music, its techniques, tools to work on, sound palettes to try, and it might still not be enough, but I believe I have grasped a lot of knowledge over my time in the industry and I feel I should impart that wisdom and knowledge to the younger generation who are looking for their way in.”