Atish Talks Fatherhood, New Music, and DJing at Minimal Effort’s Can’t-Miss Halloween Bash in L.A.

EDM.com: What have you learned about fatherhood along the way?

Atish: I’m trying to learn how to recalibrate (or more pessimistically, lower) my expectations for myself. There’s only a finite amount of time and energy we have in a day, and a baby will suck most of that out of you. It’s impossible to operate at 100% in your personal life and career while being an attentive parent. I’m a workaholic (or at least, I used to be!), so I’m figuring out how to balance all the spinning plates.

But on a more positive note, fatherhood has taught me that I have a potential for love that I never imagined possible. My son is the greatest gift I’ve ever received, and in the big picture, the rest is just details.

EDM.com: Divulge to our readers something they may not know about you. Something they can't find on the web.

Atish: I’m an open person and a child of the internet so just about everything is out there. But one thing most people don’t know is my obsession with the show Breaking Bad (and its prequel Better Call Saul). I’ve watched both of these many times over and read hours worth of online analysis of this masterpiece of a show. I can quickly bond with someone over the ins and outs of Walter White or Gus Fring.

EDM.com: Tell us about your upcoming EP with YokoO. How did it come together and what exactly can fans look forward to?

Atish: I’m really proud of this EP. It represents a sonic direction that I’m very excited about that might surprise a few people. To be candid, I’m aware that many in our scene have closely associated me with Burning Man, and for good reason. But with that, I feel that I’ve been put a bit in an Organic House box, for lack of a better term. I have nothing against that genre and I play some of it myself, but this EP showcases a bit more minimal and groove oriented sounds that haven’t been heard in any of my productions thus far.

Part of that comes from collaboration with YokoO, who has leaned a bit into the romanian/minimal sound. The project came together in mid 2020. I had been sitting on a few tunes that had lush, ethereal, melodic sounds but lacked a certain specialness in the groove. I had been friends with YokoO for a few years at that point and sent them his way to see if he was inspired. In just a few days time, he turned around with some gems using my parts. We had a few conversations around some tweaks, but overall he just hit a home run with where he took them. It’s been an absolute joy working with YokoO and I hope we release more EPs down the road.

EDM.com: Besides the new EP, what else does the future hold for Atish?

Atish: Looking ahead, I’m really thinking about how to balance the touring life and the home life. Since I’m spending more time at home, I’m trying to use this as an opportunity to release more original music than pre-pandemic cadence. I’m close to wrapping up a collaboration EP with the up-and-coming Indian producer Vridian, which I hope to have out early next year. I’m also making good headway on a solo EP that should follow a few months after. Sim     

You can purchase tickets to Minimal Effort's 2021 L.A. Halloween party here.