The first song that I heard from 6091 was his track Kummatti. It sampled music and sounds from classic 1979 Malayalam movies and created soundscapes that captured its essence. The track was a mesmerizing juxtaposition of folklore and mystique, blended with a rousing original composition. Listening to more tracks from him, stirred up feelings of familiarity, especially as a South Indian girl who grew up listening to Ilayaraja and AR Rahman. There is this underlying reminder of the memories of hearing Tamil or Malayalam songs playing on radios or through subpar speakers that are contemporised with modern electronic influences in 6091's tracks. 

In catching up with Gopikrishnan PN, the record/music producer from Trivandrum who goes by the name 6091, it was evident that the inspiration that he draws from his memories and roots is what has helped him create these evocative tracks. He has worked with several independent artists and bands to create original compositions that capture their unique voices while still experimenting with sounds in his own way. We got in touch with 6091 to delve a little deeper and learn more about his music. 

Please tell us a little more about yourself.

My name is Gopikrishnan, aka 6091. I’m 28, and I hail from Trivandrum, Kerala. I am a record/music producer who grew up listening to Carnatic music and can play a little bit of percussion like Mridangam. I've also completed grade 7 piano under Trinity.

How did you get started with creating music?

It all began in my childhood. I don’t remember exactly when I got introduced to music. But I do have a picture of me holding a small Yamaha keyboard at the age of 1. My father is a Carnatic vocalist and I've been hearing all the ragas and musical notes since day one. I started playing with different music production software first, trying out everything I had then, and was curious about the sounds I heard. Slowly that became my hobby and it turned into a habit when I was in school. And later on, I started producing tracks with my father. It became more exciting when one of my friends, Adil made me listen to Skrillex 10 years ago, and I started exploring more sound design and new genres of music. From there I spent my days learning to create my own sounds. This curiosity, excitement, and learning about how sounds are created, along with passion and a lot of hard work is what got me to where I am right now. But I’m still learning.

In your words, how would you describe your sound?

I always want my sounds to be unique but I understand it’s a difficult process to make the audience understand some of what I do in terms of the way to listen to it as music and art specifically. Usually, I try my best to add the sounds I grew up listening to and everything I experienced in my life, to the newer genres of electronic music. Sometimes it will be organic, and sometimes it will be different. I don’t stick to a particular sound for my music. I love to learn new things every day about sounds and how it influences us. Right now I’m just exploring and learning new genres of electronic music, and also trying out different styles of programming. Mostly, I want my tracks to have some sort of story, character, emotion, and culture. I want all of that to be conveyed through my tracks.

Who have been your biggest inspirations?

It's not like the inspiration comes from one single thing. Everything around me inspired me as an artist and also as a human being. Nature is one of the biggest inspirations for me. I learned a lot from it. I believe everything we create is already existing in nature on its own. We just have to focus to find it. I usually listen to all kinds of music and new artists and everything unique inspires me differently. Creating something new rather than replicating the same thing over and over again is what drives me.

Who are some artists that you hope to work with, in the future?

I've never really thought about it, but I surely want to work with a lot of artists. As of now, I’m just working on myself and my music. Hopefully in the journey, I will meet and create art with some wonderful artists. 

What do you have planned for the immediate future? What hopes do you have for yourself in the long term, as a musician?

As of now, I'm not thinking about the future. I’m just focusing on what I can do today and being happy about what I have with me right now. I'm learning more about music and creating music the way I want to. Making myself and my art better than yesterday. And I believe good things will join my journey and also unpleasant things. I’m not holding onto expectations and rather just focusing on doing what I really love.

You can listen to music from 6091 on Spotify. 

You can follow his work on Instagram.

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