Today we’d like to introduce you to Rocky Sahoo.
Hi Rocky, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I wasn’t the best at expressing myself through words, so I started my creative journey as a drawer. I went from doodling obsessively underneath my desk in class when I was little, to sharing my artwork in local exhibitions when i was 15, and starting an art commission business in my senior year of high school. I also played piano, particularly covers, because I wanted people to understand how certain songs felt to me.
My identity up until this point was art and music, but i realized I also needed part of my identity to focus on my own sustenance, so i picked design. I picked design because the other parts of my identity, art and music, focus heavily on systems. Design has the impact of solving problems for people, even the potential for saving lives.
Regarding music, I also realized the same light-bulb “a-ha” moment that i did with art, which is making it digital, pushing it into the electronic space and learning more about the function. I began concocting my own original productions, largely house, hip-hop, and experimental tracks with no words. I let the music do the speaking.
Right now, i’m focused on proving that design has the ability to save lives. I’ve done industry projects and worked with major healthcare and finance companies to tackle problems for their employees, for their customers and for their business. I’ve made several systems more accessible, easy to use, functional, and intentionally designed. I’m currently working on building applications and tools that make people’s lives easier and more enjoyable, while also pushing design governance and ensuring that products that are being shipped feel intentional and authored.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
to be direct, no. I’ve gotten my work critiqued, I’ve suffered imposter syndrome, feeling like either an imposter or just not good enough, or feeling too good about my work that i become blind to important details.
Regarding my career as a Product Designer, I’ve been laid off over 3 times and have worked from contract to contract. I’ve learned to treat these times as both learning experiences and its own identifiable strength. The strength here is that I know how to work when teams need alignment in high-stakes phases. I’ve been called in when their workflows break, when product teams need overflow support, and when designs need a sharp, detailed eye.
Regarding art and music, Its been hard to get myself to draw more. I’ve definitely gravitated more towards being a musician. I realize how sacred art is, and abandoning it feels wrong in my stomach. When i hit the deepest roadblocks, art is there to pick me back up. It’s like the root. Product Design and Music Production are the branches.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Regarding my musical career I’m a house music DJ and music producer, specializing in disco, funk, house, and jazz. My biggest inspirations are Kaytranada, Daft Punk, Parcels, French Kiwi Juice, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. I’m known for doing sets where I don’t often take requests and let my music tell a story and introduce people to new sounds. As a South Asian man entering the disco and funky side of house music, I also aim to inject sounds from my culture into what I make.
What sets me apart from the scene is how I define culture. As a DJ, I take a more artistic approach to the question of culture. What culture is has a broader public implication, and also the personal. When I play sets, I paint my canvas with sounds that reflect what my definition of culture is to me. This is all tangled with the spiritual aspect, which is attempting to understanding the energy inside me and around me. I see house music as spiritual. The iconic four-on-the-floor kick is aligned with the bodies natural rhythm and that power is infectious. House is credited to black, brown and queer people in 1970’s Chicago. Its a sound of revolution, power, standing up for the marginalized, and universalizing a connection with people who feel outcasted. I aim to combine a fusion of sounds (recently obsessed with amapiano bollywood) into that iconic, infectious house kick.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
i tried starting a clothing company called Saale! in college focused on South-Asian streetwear, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had no idea how to start a business, and I co-founded it with the help of 2 friends in college. While it temporarily succeeded in college, it ended up requiring more than what we could put in at the time. The website worked, we shot our marketing in 35 mm film and starting off as an art-resharing page focused on South Asian Creatives. People ordered our products. We just realized so many fragments in our business model that we had to disband. I see it as an experiment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://rockysahoo.space
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockysahoo.art/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarthakrockysahoo
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@6fut7music?si=BHmXRoWoqdIJxrcG
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/4OMiQ7e4LmM9RtInEz
- Other: Art Page: https://rockysahooart.framer.website/
