Rajkanwar Sodhi — or Raj — is a genre-fluid guitarist and producer from New Delhi. Inspired by the likes of Metallica and Steven Wilson, among others, Raj has created a discography that spans genres such as lo-fi jazz, house, indie soul, and beyond, continuing to experiment with new sounds and rhythms.
In his teenage years, music was a constant for Raj. At a time when online music streaming services were not as widely available, and having grown up in a much smaller town where record stores were scarce, he turned to Torrents to find his favourite artists, downloading his favourite tracks onto his iPod shuffle. ‘I remember downloading the entire discography of my favourite band off Torrent, and I used to listen to all of that.’ The music he listened to heavily inspired his own interest in the field as well, especially the work of Kurt Cobain, to which Raj felt a special connection. ‘The depth in his music, and also his sense of visual arts and his other pieces of work inspire me.’
From the young age of thirteen, Raj was enthusiastic about making music. Gifted his first guitar by a distant relative, he dedicated his time to figuring the instrument out, unfazed by the fact that it was not a very expensive guitar and thus, could not be tuned properly. ‘I was just so passionate about figuring it all out. I used to sit with it for hours.” His time practising on his guitar created a solid foundation for the art he would soon create, giving him a background on music theory, as well as techniques and skills which he uses to date.
Always interested in producing his music, Raj had already begun to experiment with production before the pandemic. By February of 2020, he realized that he had already created several beats, and the process seemed to flow naturally for him. As he continued to make more and more tracks, he started uploading them online on platforms like Instagram, to build an audience. Two years later, in 2022, he quit his corporate gig and got a deal with a label for one of his tracks. In a true leap of faith, Raj had sent his track, Home to You in an email to the CEO of the label and, much to his pleasant surprise, he got a response as well, asking to sign him and offering a contract.
True to his nature, Raj continues to experiment with sound in his latest track, Konnakol Jazz, which combines Indian classical sound with genres like lo-fi jazz and house. In December of 2024, Raj found himself in a cafe looking for a change of scenery as he tried to work his way out of a creative drought of sorts. With his laptop and a cup of coffee, he began experimenting with drum sounds and rhythms. During his experiments, he came across a Konnakol voice sample, which he fitted with the drums, and in about 30 minutes, the track began to take shape. He soon recorded the guitar track at home, completing the track. His dedication to creating music, no matter what, keeps him from falling into a creative rut. ‘If you work in a structure, if you show up every day in the studio, even if you come up with something that’s not good enough, you will eventually make something. Some things will sound great, some things won’t, but more often than not, I think it’s about having a structured artistic life to show up every day.’
Following his latest track release, Raj is set to release his first-ever house EP later this year, a collaboration with international artists which he built from March to May this year. ‘I’m more excited about it because it’s like the beginning of a sound, a more bouncy sound that retains my older jazz, lo-fi sensibilities, and it translates all of that into dance music and house music.’ The project is set to drop from July to September, once again featuring Raj’s creative exploration of different sounds and genres.
Words Ayushie Shahane
1.07.2025
