Nucleya dives into his new music, personal life, and philosophy

Since the Internet canrsquot get enough of throwbacks this month herersquos one that hits close to home On Ganesh Chaturthi in 2015 in the heart of Girgaon Nucleya aka Udyan Sagar hopped on a travelling truck fitted with speakers to launch his album Bass Rani From what we remember a few thousand people danced shoulder to shoulder that nightA moment from the 2015 album launch of Bass Rani on the streets of GirgaonMore than a decade later backstage at SulaFest 2026 in Nashik we meet 46yearold Nucleya in a strikingly subdued avatar The saltandpepper beard gives it away Therersquos a twinkle in his eye though when we bring up his Mumbai escapade While the artistersquos electric set right after our chat taught us not to judge a musician by his greys herersquos what the bass heavyweight had to say backstageExcerpts from an interviewYour new album stands out right off the bat from the title Diggi Bumba Tell us the story behind itIt started with a track I composed inspired by rsquo90s Bollywood music I took it to Anu Malik to see if he would like to feature on the title track He seemed to love the nostalgic vibe and his first reaction was ldquoDiggi bumbardquoA dated photograph of Nucleya at the launch PICS COURTESYNUCLEYA ON YOUTUBEThe new album sounds familiar and fresh at the same time Whatrsquos new and what has remained the same since the first dayI am glad people are still hearing the old Nucleya in the album My creativity is still intact but the sound has evolved Earlier my music was way heavier Irsquoll admit I wasnrsquot great at composition Irsquove spent more time honing that skill in the new albumDiggi Bumba also features new talent from across India What was your scouting process likeItrsquos all Instagram I might have DMed messaged nearly 200 musicians who piqued my interest From the ones who got back to me Irsquom sitting on a bank of nearly 50 collaborations We have two new albums coming up The first one is a Marathi album that will feature artistes like Dorwin and Shreyas Sagvekar Itrsquos too soon to talk about the second one but it should be out by the end of the yearIn a 2016 interview you shared that you have music playing in the background at home 24x7 Has it shaped your son Gurirsquos affinity to musicAbsolutely Guri is 14 now and he has grown up to become a singerpianistbeatboxerproducer Hersquos being trained by a Japanese beatboxer and trying to get into competitive circles At the moment hersquos fascinated by 3D printing and cooking on the side I never asked him to take up music and wersquore letting him explore his avenues just as a teen shouldTalking of 2016 how do you remember the Ganpati Visarjan concert in MumbaiIt was all a dream That day was special because everyone who was around me was as invested in making it special including the fans who showed up in large numbers I am a big believer in manifestation Though Irsquom not sure if Mumbai can still pull off something like that we can always manifest it In fact everything that you hear on the new album is something I had already pictured in my head when I set out to make itArtistes across the board seem to be slowing down retiring and taking time for themselves in 2026 You took an extended hiatus before it was considered normal How important was thatI took a year and a half off from music because I wasnrsquot enjoying what I was doing I spent time with my family went for runs and read books My screen time dwindled to an alltime low I found human psychology to be fascinating so I started reconnecting with friends and likeminded people to understand and discuss how they navigate phases like this It helped me plan my way forwardGigs to catchSounds like StockholmTune into Swedish progressive house music at DJ Jeremy Olanderrsquos above extended set in Lower Parel ON February 6 8 pmAT antiSocial Lower ParelLOG ON TO antisocialofflineENTRY Rs 799Spin it in SpanishDance along to Barcelonabased DJ Edgar De Ramonrsquos minimal technoinspired tunes ON February 7 9 pmAT Waves Bayview Lawns MazgaonLOG ON TO sortmyscenecomENTRY Rs 999On my bookshelfIn keeping with his interest in psychology the musician recommends the bibliography of his current favourite author and Nobel prize winning physicist Richard FeynmanAVAILABLE Leading bookstores and estoresNext in lineNucleyarsquos next album will spotlight the Marathi language and feature artistes like Dorwin and Shreyas Sagvekar of Tambdi Chamdi fame