We were lucky to catch up with Atharva Dhekne recently and have shared our conversation below.

Atharva, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I’m absolutely content with my life as a creative professional. I haven’t come across anyone in my life who hasn’t had a regular job trying to supplement their artistic ventures. It’s a regretful and agonizing thing in society that anyone who wishes to pursue anything creative cannot even pay their bills even as they’re starting out in their careers. Why is it that you only get recognized and are able to sustain yourself only when you’re somewhat successful in a creative field? Any creative person willing to turn their hobby into their profession has had to do menial jobs to stay afloat — it is more or less a rite of passage to doing what you love. It’s also a test of time and resilience of how much you’re willing to sacrifice and invest towards your creative career.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I work as an Immersive Engineer and Mastering Production Engineer at Sterling Sound in Edgewater, NJ and I work out of the New York City area as an Audio Engineer and Producer. Mastering is the last step in the music production and engineering process before distribution and release. Mastering engineers are a different set of ears that offer the final finishing touches sonically to any given album or track and maintain uniformity from start to end. When songs are recorded and mixed with a singular perspective, mastering engineers ensure that they have fluidity and consistency over various media including streaming, radio, vinyl, CD, tape, and much more.

I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with Grammy award winning artists, musicians, producers, and engineers and learnt working under these legends. Selena Gomez, Dua Lipa, Rauw Alejandro, Bad Bunny, Pharrell Williams, David Byrne, Ariana Grande, Lorde, Alicia Keys, J Balvin, Future, Cardi B, OneRepublic, Sam Fender, Florence + The Machine, Rosé, AP Dhillon, Lin Manuel Miranda, Robbie Williams, Lil Uzi Vert are just a some of the artists that I’ve worked with before.

Coming from another country to settling down in New York with virtually no network and trying to establish your identity and getting a foot in the door was the most challenging aspect for me — especially when every hopeful prospect like yourself is moving to the same city with the same drive and determination to somehow make it. A huge deterrent for young professionals trying to make a living working in music is that most recording studios hire unpaid interns for months until there’s even a discussion of any remuneration. Unfortunately that is how the industry has institutionalized free labor in exchange for industry exposure. Whilst you have to do tough work as an intern or a runner working at a studio, my suggestion would be to use that position to make contacts and build your network.

Finding your place in the music industry is just a matter of time, being on the right people’s radars and building connections, enough that you’re the first person that they think of when they need someone. The only thing I’ve learnt from working in music is that it’s a very small world and everyone knows someone — you’re only one connection away!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Continuing from what I said earlier, our society has to accept creative professions as sustainable and viable ones just like any others. Grassroots support for the arts has to start with schools offering music and art classes so that students get an idea of alternative avenues of work. Furthermore, parents should be more welcoming and supportive of their children pursuing these creative endeavors. If parents and future generations are shown pioneering stories of creative professionals and their career paths, it may persuade them to invest more of their efforts in the arts. There should be systematic changes in the industry as well. Take for instance the music industry. Recording studios, producers, engineers, show pipe dreams to young professionals trying to make a name for themselves and exploit them to do menial tasks — none of which that they have studied or worked tirelessly for. Working unpaid for months at a time, then getting promoted to minimum wage doing the same unskilled tasks has become institutionalized with all major names in the industry. The industry overall should be more ethical and try to utilize the drive and ambition that these young professionals have, and are willing to contribute.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

My career in the creative arts is a result of me pivoting from software engineering. I studied computer engineering for my Bachelor’s degree but I was never satisfied with the nature of work, and the rat race herd mentality especially in those lines of work. I was frustrated trying to fit in and plateau out, and I didn’t envision myself doing the same 9-5 desk job with diminishing returns and hating my life for it. This is especially true when you’re studying and growing up in a highly populous place like India where you have a lot of competition. People were more dead set on “cracking” competitive exams and gaming interview processes in the same herd mentality is what I personally felt. Having never fit in that mold, I always had an artistic facet; I played the piano since I was five years old and was pretty good at it — but not to a level where I could be one of the more eminent performers. I was quite aware of that fact, but playing the piano always gave me a release. So, in my second year of engineering, when I was already fatigued from the hamster cage treadmill, I looked into newer avenues for my career and settled on music technology. I was still fond of technology and it also allowed me to work with music. I applied for a handful of Master’s programs and decided to attend NYU Steinhardt for their Music Technology program. I was able to get more practical experience and hone my skills to pivot to exactly what I wanted to pursue creatively.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tacitonic.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tacitonic
• Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/atharvadhekne
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tacitonic

Image Credits

Atharva Dhekne