Meet Shivaraj Natraj

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shivaraj Natraj. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shivaraj below.

Shivaraj, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

I source my creativity from small things that happen in my everyday life. Especially living around Berklee College of Music, it is very easy to get inspiration from shows, rehearsals and classes going on around the campus. It is also easier to get overwhelmed because of which I sometimes tune out and seek inspiration from outside, from less directly musical examples, like the rhythm pattern of a running generator, or the sounds of different birds from the park nearby. It isn’t necessarily melodic or rhythmic always, sometimes I get an idea of a soundscape I want to use for one of my projects.

Either way, more importantly I have periods of rest, where I am not seeking inspiration for creativity. This is very important. Playing sports with friends, watching movies etc. The importance of light can be found only when darkness exists. Similarly, periods of rest help fuel the fire to want to create. Or else it results in burnout.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I wear a number of hats. I am a trained Carnatic singer, under my father Sri Natraj Pushpavanam. I am a Konnakol beatboxer, where I fuse the ancient Indian classical vocal percussion language of Konnakol with beatboxing. I am a percussionist, I play the Carnatic percussion instrument called the Mridangam and thus also the Indian frame drum (Khanjira), and other percussion like Congas and Bongos. I am an arranger and producer, a recent graduate in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music. I have mostly produced music since 2016 for my Carnatic fusion band Project Mishram where I am the lead vocalist as well as band leader.

My story is simple, I was born into a musical family. My grandmother Smt. Rukmini Pushpavanam and her mother Smt. Vallabham Kalyanasundaram were singers at the esteemed All India Radio in the last century. My great grand uncle is Sri Mayuram Vishwanatha Shastri who is a famed composer of Carnatic music as well as Bharat Bhajans, patriotic Indian compositions (some of which I am working to produce now, in orchestral and modern settings). I was born and brought up in Muscat, Oman where I lived until my 10th grade, after which I moved to Bengaluru, India where I pursued a career in engineering. Graduating from RV College of Engineering in mechanical engineering, I worked in Stellium, a Houston-based SAP implementation firm where I worked in the logistics division (SAP TM) for 3 years. I had music running parallelly and post COVID in 2020, I applied to attend Berklee College of Music which I joined in September 2021. I have now recently graduated from this prestigious institution looking ahead into possible projects and a musical career.

I have also worked with 3x Grammy(R) winner Ricky Kej for many of his live shows, collaborated with him and “Police” drummer Stewart Copeland in their album “Police Beyond Borders”, played with stalwarts like Grammy(R) winning singer Shankar Mahadevan, Vijay Prakash and Hariharan. With Project Mishram, what’s ahead is our performance at one of the biggest metal fests in the USA – Louder than Life festival in September 2024 in Louisville, KY, via Berklee Popular Music Institute. (https://louderthanlifefestival.com) We are sharing stage with legendary bands like Korn, Gojira, Slayer, Anthrax, Motley Crue, Evanescence, Sum 41, Poppy, Slipknot, and many, many others. We hope to release another single by end of this year.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Interpersonal skills – I am great at breaking the ice. I mingle well with people, make conversations easily and try to naturally find subjects that are relatable to the person I am talking to. I love trying to make new friends and network, not just for personal gains but just honest, meaningful relationships.

Go-getter – this mindset and mentality pushed me to try and get everything that Berklee has to offer with its infamously high student fees. I got additional scholarships, a lot of free stuff from college including a six month free YMCA membership, auditioned and performed in about 18 shows at the Berklee Performance Center, a few others at MGM Fenway and the commencement concert in Boston University’s Agganis Arena, co founded the South Asian Scholar’s Association at Berklee apart from graduating summa cum laude. (Almost done, one credit left).
Even in different aspects of life, I’ve always aspired to get the best. However it’s also important to come to terms with the fact that you might not always get this as a direct result, but opportunities always knock at your door in some way or the other. Be ready and grab it.

Deep-rooted traditions – I always make sure to be grounded, sticking to my Indian traditional roots – like being respectful to elders, my teachers, parents, and pretty much everyone else. Being humble has its own benefits. Yes, I might sway many a time towards wanting to obtain some fruit but I make sure it’s not at the cost of someone else’s downfall.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

I am definitely looking to work on projects in :

1. Making music for other artists from any styles of music (literally any, ranging from Bluegrass to EDM to Death Metal)
2. Creating content on social media where I can offer beatboxing, vocals or percussion.
3. Making music for video games (I have a minor in video game scoring)
4. Making music for advertisements
5. Live performances and features at festivals, concerts and residencies
6. Teaching (Indian classical music theory, interpretations, beatboxing)

Contact Info:

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