South Asian sound isn’t emerging, it’s ascending.
From bansuri to Bollywood strings, these sounds have been shaping global music for decades. AAROH sought to create a digital archive of the most influential South Asian instruments authentically at never seen before scale.
My Role
VP, Content (Strategic Lead, Executive Producer, Creative Director)
Led the multi-year creative strategy, international production pipeline, team resourcing, and end-to-end execution — from insight and concept to recording, design, release cadence, and growth.
INSTANT ADOPTION
Fastest-converting collection launch of the year
79% lift in South Asian search and engagement
First-time visitor growth attributed to AAROH
Adopted by producers across hip-hop, Bollywood, UK rap, and electronic music
The Opportunity
Two decades into the globalization of Indian and South Asian music, demand was accelerating. Producers were searching for sounds they couldn’t find: bansuri, sitar, tabla, sarod, vintage Bollywood textures, and regional percussion styles.
Splice had an opportunity to become the global home for these sounds by serving a massive, fast-growing diaspora with authentic recordings made with real musicians, real studios, and real cultural lineage.
The
Vision
Build a multi-volume, modern archive of South Asian sound, designed for creators globally but anchored in regional expertise. A label that honors the past while empowering new interpretations across Bollywood, hip-hop, UK rap, electronic music, and more.
Preserve traditional recording techniques and historic gear, bridge the gap between global creators and local experts.
The
System
Aaroh needed to go beyond our creative pipeline to become an international production machine operating across continents, languages, and musical traditions. It needed real-time problem-solving in environments where Western production norms don’t apply. We adapted our pipeline to become:
Signal → Insight → Pre-Production → Creative → Field Production → Design → Release → Signal (repeat)
Aaroh (आरोह) means “ascent” in Hindi; an upward movement in music.
The project was one of Splice’s most ambitious to date and lived up to its name.
Aaroh was a multi-year creative initiative that brought together leading musicians, engineers, and designers across India. We dove deep into the techniques behind South Asian pop and film music of the ’50s–’80s, recording with traditional methods and vintage gear like the Binson Echorec 2.
In our first multi-city, international project, we recorded 15 packs worth of material: bansuri, sitar, tabla, sarod, santoor, winds, percussion, and 2 vintage Bollywood orchestras. We then built a visual world inspired by India’s vibrant street art and folk-art stenciling tradition — bold, colorful, and unmistakably regional.
The true power of AAROH emerged when the sounds were reinterpreted by contemporary creators.
Working with Resident Advisor, we put the sounds into the hands of UK-based South Asian artists and global producers and the response exceeded expectations: AAROH quickly became the strongest-converting collection we created, resonating with a new generation of artists who blended heritage with modern production.
Recorded at Yash Raj and Island City Studios withleading musicians and engineers Dhruv Goel, Ishaan Chabra, and more.
From vintage microphones to classical playing techniques, every detail was designed to preserve the warmth and nuance of India’s musical heritage.
These behind-the-scenes moments capture the energy, collaboration, and craft that made the project possible.
