Building from scratch

Prayag Mehta and Rishab Joshi of Lost Stories started out in 2009, at a time when the electronic music scene in the country was at a nascent stage. Today, the duo have earned themselves quite a reputation within India and internationally as one of the most sought after acts.  Another feather to their caps, the Mumbai-based EDM duo has also made it to the annual DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJs, a publicly voted poll, this year. “Back in 2009, when Prayag and I started with Lost Stories, the music scene in India was really bland. All that one could hear was bad quality Bollywood music — it was so irritating. We were so frustrated with the sorry scene, and that’s when we got together on Lost Stories,” Joshi recalls, adding that the new laurels the act has been getting is an amazing thing for them. “Our entry to the Mag’s list feels great,” he smiles.

The duo connected on the once-popular social networking site, Myspace, and very soon released False Promises, which was picked up by popular Dutch DJ and producer Tiesto’s label, Black Hole Recordings. Hitting the jackpot since, there’s been no looking back for the duo. Rishab says that it is only perseverance that has got them to this juncture today. Even in their toughest times, they concentrated on making the most of their music. “There were times when we had no work at hand,” says Rishab. “It was rather easy to just give up, but we utilised it to find our music, our own voice. We wanted to experiment with progressive trance. And here we are — releasing associated acts with One Republic, Alan Walker and the colossal Spinning Records! It has been quite the journey, really.”

Talking about their approach to music, Rishab says, “We were ardent fans of electronic music for several years. But, with our music, we aim at concentrating on the Indian element and giving the music an ethnic feel. Even our remixes of popular songs carry a certain folk element; we give them the Lost Stories treatment.” Rishab gushes as he talks about the music scene in the country. “There are two sides to the music scene in the country — the business side and the creative side. On the business front, well, you know, all the big guns in the industry are getting on board — discovering new talent and bringing them to the forefront, organising some of the best festivals and gigs. On the creative front, it is all gold! Bedroom DJs are getting international acclaim and accepted by so many music lovers worldwide! It’s a good time to be a part of the country’s music scene,” he says.