Name: Lost Stories
Members: Prayag Mehta, Rishab Joshi
Interviewee: Rishab Joshi
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Producers, DJs
Current Release: Lost Stories team up with Anyasa for “Patasa,” out via Indo Warehouse.  

[Read our Anyasa interview]
[Read our interview with Indo Warehouse's Kahani]

If you enjoyed this interview with Lost Stories and would like to find out more about the duo's music and upcoming live dates, visit them on Instagram.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics, etc. play?

I see creativity as a giant filter. As humans, we take in so much information throughout the day, but as a creative person, you are always trying to convert that information into inspiration and make something out of nothing.

The source of inspiration really depends on how our antennas are tuned. We have dreamt of melodies that have ended up on our songs, and we have also gotten inspired while passing a construction site.

We have discovered that, for us, creating in a highly emotional state sometimes translates better for the audience.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas, or what some have called a ‘visualisation’ of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

We almost never plan for the end result to sound a certain way. Happy accidents and creating from a state of not knowing are a huge part of our creative process.

I know a lot of creatives sometimes know exactly what they want, and it works great for them. For us, assuming the final form of the idea even before starting feels like wasted potential.

Obviously, this applies only to the creative process. For technical things like the mix and the tone of the song, we usually know what we want right from the start.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way? For example, do you need to do research or create early versions?

Over time, we have really started to abide by the maxim of making it exist first and refining it later. So yes, early versions are a thing for us. We also need inspiring sounds laid out to get into the flow, so templates are a huge part of our process.

If we are trying to create a different genre, we get really deep into studying the elements that make the genre sound the way it does. That is the only way we can make it sound authentic.

That being said, when we feel we are stuck in a rut, we abandon all our usual processes, sit with our synths or a random tool, and just try to be silly with it.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise, or reading poetry play?

No rituals in particular, but lighting is a huge deal for me. I cannot do bright overhead lighting. People who have been to my studio know that I have more lights than gear.

I truly believe that lighting changes the energy of the room, and it helps me get into flow faster and stay there longer.

For “Patasa,” what did you start with? If there were conceptual considerations, what were they?

We knew we wanted to create something with an ethnic or folk Indian vocal. We also knew that we were making this for the dance floor and not for radio. Eventually, we did end up making something that works for both.

We started with the vocal sample we recorded and let it take us deeper and deeper into the idea. It was a very organic process where one idea inspired the next, and within a few hours we had our final arrangement.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control, or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

It is very important for us to enjoy the process of making music.

We know that once the song is out, the commercial success of that song is totally out of our hands. For us, if the process is fun and inspiring, it is already a win. Everything else is a bonus.

To have fun, it is important not to be married to a particular result and to let things be. Those big moments in the studio usually come from a place of creative freedom.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

For me personally, the creative state is brutal. Once I am in a state of flow, I forget to eat, drink, or sleep as long as the flow keeps me going.

Once I am out of it, it almost feels like coming home from a war. It sounds extreme, but sometimes it really does feel like that.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you are satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice?

This is a touchy topic.

People around me know that I will go crazy trying to achieve the result I want, especially in the arrangement and mixing stage. At times, I have found myself tweaking the mix even on the day of release. I have been known to spend 45 minutes on the composition and writing stage and six months on the arrangement and mix stage.

Sometimes it is just difficult to let go. Call it perfectionism or obsession, it does make my life difficult during that phase. It is also an internal battle. People around me would have no clue that there is a war going on inside my head. However, the end result makes it all worth it.

How do you think the meaning or effect of an individual piece is enhanced, clarified, or possibly contrasted by the EPs or albums it is part of? Does each piece, for example, need to be consistent with the larger whole?

It depends on the story you are trying to tell. In our experience, sometimes it is just not possible to give the entire picture in a single song. This is true for all the albums we consumed growing up.

I personally do not believe each track needs to stand out by itself, but it does need to help build up to that one moment in the album where it all makes sense. It is kind of like a DJ set, where you may need to play four or five filler songs for the sixth track to truly shine.

What is your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering, for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between composition and arrangement or performance?

I believe that some people are so gifted with composition and arrangement skills that they need nothing more than a vocal track and a guitar track for that song to become a worldwide hit.

However, being a producer myself, I would not underestimate the power of what good production and a good mix and master can do in shaping how the audience perceives a song.

Music and the accompanying artwork are often closely related. Can you talk about this a little bit for your current project and the relationship that images and sounds have for you in general?

Artworks are extremely important for us. They are literally the visual identity of the song for both us and the audience.

A lot of times, it is not possible to make a music video, so an aligned artwork is all you have to tell a visual story. We spend a lot of time trying to give the sonics a visual persona.

With “Patasa,” it was clear that we wanted something with speed, action, and motion frozen in time. We used the artwork to give the audience a small teaser of the visualiser we made for the song.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this, and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

That sense of emptiness is where new ideas are born.

However, in this fast-paced world of multiple projects, where we are constantly jumping from one thing to another and moving so fast, we have not really felt that feeling in a while.