Show is going to be one big party with everyone dancing: Raghu Dixit

CHENNAI: It was while working as a scientist in Belgium that he discovered how good it was to sing and make music. “Since then there has been no looking back. I have met some amazing musicians and realised it’s a joy making music for living,” says Raghu Dixit, who is all set to perform today at Buck Theatre at 7pm for the grand finale of the Times Chennai Festival.
It was a bet during his college days which made Dixit learn the guitar. Coming from a traditional south Indian family, learning western music was a difficult task. But he moved from Mysore to Bangalore and picked up writing, singing and composing by strumming the guitar and listening to songs. Ask him what he enjoys the most and he says, “Everything has its own charm. There is nothing I like more than singing on stage but put me in a studio and I shall get immersed in the music.”
His band, The Raghu Dixit Project, cut their debut album Antaragni (The Fire Within) in 2008. Their music is a mix of folk, blues, Sufi, rock, funk, reggae, Bhangra and Latin. So, how different is their band from others? “I don’t think it’s fair to compare. We make music that we like and we are thrilled that people like it as much as we do,” says Dixit.
Everything about Dixit has an eccentric touch, be it his music or style. Dixit, who won a gold medal in MSc (microbiology) and a vidwat in Bharatanatyam, sports a sarong and shirt while performing.
Dixit debuted as a film music a composer with the Kannada movie ‘Psycho’. He has also sung and composed for Hindi movie ‘Quick Gun Murugan’ and composed for ‘Mujhse Fraandship Karoge’. “I like all kinds of music and am comfortable doing films and jingles or composing songs. It requires different mindsets but are equally creative,” he says.
Though he has not performed often in Chennai, Dixit is looking forward to the show. “I think we will have an amazing audience,” he says. “The show is going to be one big party with everyone dancing with us.”