‘There’s A Big Rise In The One-Man Army Approach’: ZICR On Independent Music

Hrithik Sharma, professionally known as ZICR, is a multifaceted music professional working across artistry, music production, mixing and mastering, composition and music education. With years of experience in music production, audio engineering and artist collaborations, Sharma has worked across India’s music industry while building a strong presence in music education and digital content.

Now stepping into the spotlight as ZICR, Sharma brings his experience as a producer, mixing engineer and educator into his own music. His perspective offers an interesting look at India’s evolving independent music landscape, where artists are increasingly taking control of production, mixing, mastering, content and promotion themselves.

In this exclusive interview with Loudest.in, ZICR talks about AI and technology in music, independent music production, mixing and mastering, his creative journey, his latest song “Tu Mera Jahaan,” and his plans for live performances.

Here are edited excerpts:

You’ve educated 4,000+ students worldwide. What is the biggest misconception emerging artists have about mixing and mastering today?

I’ve had a lot more than that.

Okay, that’s a nice question. I would say one of the biggest misconceptions is that gear matters a lot. Expensive speakers or plugins, yes, they do matter. But to me, I would say the ear matters the most.

If you know what to listen for and how to treat the problem you’re hearing, then you can do it even on, say, a laptop speaker. It ultimately comes down to how well you understand what you’re listening to.

Is the growing accessibility of production tools making music better, or simply making the market more crowded?

I would say both. There are people who are using all these tools wisely. We have AI right now, so you don’t even need to record anything, you can simply type, ‘Give me a guitar,’ and it can generate a guitar.

But you have to know how to use these tools creatively and how to incorporate them into your workflow. And it’s not just AI; there are so many different tools available today. I was even seeing ChatGPT-6, Astra, and all these new developments.

You can go into Logic or FL Studio and create a beat, and that is something I still find fascinating.

Everything is changing so quickly, so I really cannot say anything about the future.

With AI increasingly entering music production, how do you see the role of the human mixing engineer evolving?

And I think mixing is one area where… I’m not sure. See, the thing is, when I look at how AI is progressing in other fields, just take generative AI and images, for example, the kind of things these latest models can do are insane.

The same is happening with video-generation models coming out of China. They’re doing some crazy stuff. So, it makes me think that maybe, at some point, AI could do mixing as well.

I may have said earlier that this might never happen, but honestly, I’m not sure anymore. Things are changing so quickly. Maybe someday AI will just mix something for you. I’m not ruling it out.

What separates a professionally mixed track from one that merely sounds “good” on streaming platforms?

The biggest difference, I would say, is in the dynamics and the clarity. First of all, if you listen to the mix on different devices, it can sound very different.

If you listen to it on a phone, it will sound one way; if you listen to it on a speaker with more bass, it can sound completely different. So, the fact that it translates well across different devices is a very good deciding factor.

For me, that’s what tells you whether the mix is actually translating properly everywhere.

As artists increasingly self-produce their music, how important is it for them to understand the technical side of sound?

I think it’s important, but not too important as well. I don’t think that level of fanaticism is necessary. But you should know the basics, and your foundation should be clear. You shouldn’t be making basic mistakes, like not understanding gain staging.

So, you should have a strong foundation, and then let your gut guide you and let your ears tell you what’s right.

And that’s… that’s mixing.

Tell us about your latest song, Tu Mera Jahaan. What was the creative process?

So, that song was actually based on a real story. I wrote it after my breakup. At that time, I was obviously feeling a little sad. And you know how music can influence your internal state, if you listen to sad music, you tend to feel sad.

So, while I was feeling low, I wanted to feel happy. That’s when I thought, ‘I’m going to write a song for my future partner.’ Whoever she is, I’m going to dedicate this song to her. The lyrics are almost like a promise to my future partner. That was the story behind the song, in a nutshell.

I was just jamming on my guitar when I came up with the idea. I think I wrote the song in about two days and recorded it soon after.

Are you planning any campaign or a larger initiative around the song?

I have some reels being edited right now, and I also have a lot of content ideas that I want to try. I think you have to find the right balance between the art and the marketing.

Marketing is important, but the art is equally important. Finding that balance is, I think, the main thing.

Because if you have the art but don’t market it, that’s not going to work. And if you’re only focused on marketing without paying attention to the quality of your music and your output, that’s not right either.

Has the rise of independent music changed the demand for professional mixing and mastering in India?

I think in independent music, there is still a strong demand for professional mixing and mastering. But people who earlier relied entirely on others for these processes are now also learning to do them themselves.

So, I’m seeing a lot of people operating like me. There’s a big rise in this ‘one-man army’ kind of approach, where artists are doing almost everything themselves.

I do everything myself as well. I do have some people helping me behind the scenes, particularly on the marketing side, but I wouldn’t like to disclose that yet.

The live music economy is also booming today, and you’ve seen that growth firsthand. Are you planning to explore live performances or do something in that space?

Why not? I would love to perform live. Honestly, I cannot wait to perform live, if I’m being completely honest.

The only thing is, I want to release more music and build a little more momentum first. Once I have a stronger backing and a growing fan base that is genuinely supporting me, I’m going to start performing live and doing shows. And obviously, I’m sure more opportunities will come my way at that point as well.

Could you tell us about your favourite song or mix you’ve worked on, or your favourite collaboration to date?

I’ve had some really crazy collaborations with Rico Panther, Sajam, and Rangne Garathasanda.

I also did ‘Rulahogena’ with Panther, which was a very special collaboration for me. Then I worked with my brother, Ishan Kaushik. He’s a very good and versatile artist, and I’ve worked with him on seven or eight of his tracks.

And recently, Mohit Johan Serko recorded at the studio as well.

You’ve built a strong digital education platform around mixing. Can music education today become a sustainable business alongside music creation?

Yeah, yeah, it can, it can. But again, you have to find that balance.

Because at the end of the day, I don’t know about other people, if someone wants to focus entirely on the education business, they can definitely do that. But at the end of the day, if you’re a musician, you have to give time to that as well.

Life is all about balance.

Looking at India’s rapidly expanding independent music ecosystem, what does the next big opportunity look like for producers and mix engineers?

Yeah, I think building your own social media presence is important. It helps you become more visible to a wider audience.

And as you keep doing good work and your work reaches more people, I think that’s probably the best way to build yourself and your career right now.