The artistic pursuit is inherently romantic. It's built on wishful thinking, daydreaming in physics class, and making up stories in your head about the possibilities you can reach once your dreams come true. But the artistic pursuit is also hard work — not just the painful hard work of internalising a goal and working towards it even when progress goes at a snail's pace, but also logistical hard work. For most, it usually involves not having enough resources to enter an industry that often looks opaque and unreachable, and being scrappy about building something, literally brick by brick, until what you have kind of resembles a house.

We spoke to up-and-coming independent artist Aditya Majumdar, better known by his stage name Hulo, about his journey chasing the arts, from the artists that have shaped him to the people and support systems that have sustained him.

The first time I heard Hulo's music, I was instantly reminded of old-time John Mayer, with his guitar-driven melodies and introspective lyrics. While speaking about his personal influences, he points to the singer-songwriting greats, from Joni Mitchell to Hozier, and Jeff Buckley to The 1975, all of whose influences can be seen trickling through Hulo's soft but decisive songwriting. His journey in music started with his dad introducing him to artists like Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, and then led to him deciding to go to the Netherlands to study Economics and Sociology, because a career in music seemed too much of a pipe dream coming right out of the pandemic. "It seemed close to music in a way, in that it studied people just like songs study their stories," Hulo says, talking about what finally led him to chase the possibly improbable. "I didn't last long at that course though — a professor told me that my heart was elsewhere, and he would get the university to refund my first year of tuition. The offer seemed too good to decline, and my parents insisted I drop out and figure out a way to do music."

Like I said, the artistic pursuit can be scrappy, so after dropping out, Hulo spent his time writing music and performing gigs while also applying to music school. He moved to Berlin and was astounded by the culture he was surrounded by. His experience there also changed the way his music sounded and felt. Hulo talks about feeling like a "sponge", trying to soak up every single genre and school of music possible in his days in Berlin. "I was studying jazz while playing pop and grunge sessions, writing folk and alt-rock." This overwhelming but transformative sonic experience, in which Majumdar experienced every genre he could and played music in every experimental way he could, led to Aditya Majumdar becoming Hulo. It was his way of coming homeward. "It was the name my grandma called me, and it felt like the perfect tribute to home and an honest representation of who I want to be."

As Hulo's artistry and discography grows, lot of his music has reached its audience through snippets of his live performances. What has possibly captured audiences is the intimacy and rawness each of them has. Talking about the exhilarating experience that performing live feels like, he says, "I absolutely love taking my songs to the stage — every show has the potential to be a different interpretation and makes me feel like I wrote the songs all over again." Hulo talks about the transformative power a live audience has over a song, somehow even a way to make the original track become a fuller and more real version of itself. Recalling a moment on stage where he forgot the lyrics to his song 'Griefcase,' he ad-libbed on the spot by singing 'La La La,' and the audience sang it back to him. "I decided the singalong in that song was more important than whatever words I wrote — now it's become one of the most special moments of my concerts every time around."

Talking about social media and what role it plays now in the industry as a tool to access audiences a young up and coming artist usually wouldn't have but also understanding the importance of curating and cultivating an aesthetic and image, Hulo says, “It is overwhelming but I think there’s a balance between staying true to yourself and building a brand. I don’t know if I’ve found it yet because this whole world of social media is quite new to me. I think the whole “keeping it raw/real” helps.” He recently made a video in a taxi singing his song ‘To Be Me’ and instead of syncing the audio by recording it earlier, they placed mics in the taxi and played it live instead, and now that video is one of the most viewed posts on his account.

The artistic pursuit can also be lonely. Trying to make it in an industry that can sometimes be unwelcoming, and in a market that is probably at its most saturated, can be dream-crushing and sometimes isolating. In an industry like this, having the right support system, as a talent and as just a person, is the only way to make it through. Hulo talks about how he found his footing in the industry once he found his manager. "In fact, I let a lot of things run on chance and autopilot. I only put thought into the music, but just like other worlds, music is an industry too — which means there are layers after layers," he said, speaking about how he perceived the industry before finding the right professional support. And these layers that Hulo speaks about can sometimes be impossible to peel and penetrate through, causing many to give up on their dream because the privilege of access comes to only the few lucky ones. And this inaccessibility only adds to the loneliness.

But unfortunately, sometimes while we’re racing towards our dreams we forget that, more than anything, artistic pursuit is supposed to be based on collective effort and was never meant to be done alone. Hulo puts it perfectly: "My advice, although I'm not a fan of the word, would be for younger or newer artists to make sure they're not doing this alone. Nothing's more important than personal, human connection, there will always be someone who knows more than you. Learn from it, don't be intimidated.Also, it’s important to constantly have fun with it - we’re in this because we love it.'

Follow Hulo on Instagram and listen to his EP 'Griefcase' here.

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