Do you remember “Chokra”?
Released in 1995, the song introduced a young Piyush Soni to audiences through a music video featuring five boys dancing in Nepal. The song later became closely associated with the celebrations around Sri Lanka’s historic 1996 Cricket World Cup victory and received considerable television exposure.
For many artists, that would have been the beginning of a commercial music career.
For Soni, it became the beginning of something else.
He disappeared from the music industry.
But he never stopped studying music.
He Left the Industry to Find Music
Around 2000, Soni stepped away from the commercial music circuit and began travelling across India.
He visited villages, temples, festivals and weddings, meeting folk musicians and Sufi performers along the way. He listened to traditional instruments, local melodies and music that existed far away from record labels and commercial charts.
The journey changed his understanding of music.
He began seeing Indian music not simply as entertainment, but as a part of culture, memory and everyday life.
At the same time, he taught himself modern recording and production techniques, including sound design, digital audio, DJ software, composition, arrangement, mixing and mastering.
What began as curiosity became years of study.
Goa Added Another Chapter
His musical exploration eventually took him to Goa, where he encountered performers from different parts of the world – DJs, jazz musicians, mantra artists, acoustic performers, ecstatic dance artists and experimental musicians.
For around six years, Goa became another classroom.
Soni studied how international musicians approached rhythm, sound and live performance. More importantly, he began thinking about how India’s traditional musical identity could meet contemporary global production without losing its character.
That question eventually became central to his work.
Bringing Indian Sound Into a Global Format
Soni spent another two years experimenting with Indian instruments, melodies and cultural sounds alongside modern production techniques.
Over the last two years, he has created and released around 110 tracks.
But he does not consider those releases his final destination.
He describes them as a way of testing what connects with listeners.
“The 110 tracks were only testing the audience. The serious work starts now.”
His music is now available in more than 120 countries, while some of his tracks have reportedly crossed the billion-view mark.
For Soni, the numbers matter less than the fact that music rooted in Indian culture can reach listeners across languages and borders.
Keeping the Human Element
Soni’s approach also comes with a clear preference for human musicianship.
He does not use Auto-Tune or AI to create his music or replace musicians. After spending years studying real instruments, performers and traditional music, he believes the character of a human performance should remain intact.
Technology has a role in his production process, but the musician remains at the centre.
What Comes Next?
Today, Piyush Soni’s ambitions extend beyond his own music releases.
His next focus is on working with Indian corporate brands to create original anthems and musical properties that can be taken to international markets.
The idea is to give Indian companies a distinctive musical identity that can travel beyond the domestic market. An anthem can become more than a piece of promotional content. It can represent a brand’s personality, its Indian roots and its ambitions on a global stage.
Soni also sees opportunities to work with artists, filmmakers, production houses and other creative partners on music for films, documentaries, campaigns and new entertainment formats.
After spending decades studying Indian musical traditions, contemporary production and audiences across different cultures, he now wants to put that experience into projects that connect Indian creativity with the international market.
The young artist who released “Chokra” in 1995 may have stepped away from the music industry, but he never walked away from music.
Now, after years of listening, travelling, learning and experimenting, Piyush Soni is entering what he considers the most serious phase of his musical journey.
Connect With Piyush Soni
For collaborations, music projects, brand anthems and other professional enquiries, Piyush Soni can be contacted directly at piyushsoni2007@gmail.com
His music is also available on Spotify.
