Adidas' latest brand advertising campaign is marked by their flagship motto “Impossible Is Nothing,” which features and celebrates the journey of athletes that have gained popularity for their authentic representation.

Their latest commercial features energizing, upbeat music made by talented artists from around the globe, including Abbotsford’s very own producer Hark, who bagged his first commercial sync deal with Adidas this past month. 

In an interview with 5X Press, this talented powerhouse talked about his collaboration with Adidas, as well as his vision for music, and upcoming projects.

Sharing his story about the collaboration, Hark talked about how it all began when he teamed up with Snakes x Ladders many years prior to this milestone moment.

“I linked up with Tarun, the co-founder of Snakes and Ladders a long time back. We have a bunch of mutual friends and he has sort of been in the scenes a long time,” said Hark.

“Me, Asad (Khanvict), and some other locals here, we really got into this Eastern Wave music. Actually, I coined the term “Eastern Wave',” [because] we had this kind of experimental, Indian, foreign sounding music that we wanted to put out, and Snakes x Ladders became that creative outlet for us.” 

Hark went on to say that Tarun, (who also happens to be the Executive Director for 5X Festival), encouraged him because of the style of music he creates.

“Tarun’s always said my music is pretty syncable because my style is to use foreign instruments and then have a trap beat that is bouncy,” he added.

He said that being a part of the team was how he got his foot in the door with Adidas.

“I’ve never done syncing before and I didn’t have to push it to Adidas. I just gave it to the team and one day I got a message saying ‘Adidas liked your song, if you’re down, let’s do it,’” he said.

“And of course, I took the deal,” Hark chuckled.

Hark’s musical style involves combining ethnic instruments and sounds, and mixing them with good beats, making his track perfectly compatible for the Adidas advertisement.

“The little sample that I chopped was perfect for the commercial. It’s high energy, hard hitting, doesn’t have too much to pay attention to,” he added. 

Hark, who started off as a DJ at a really young age, found his inspiration as a music producer initially in old school Punjabi music, particularly from the likes of producer and DJ Bally Sagoo. 

But he said his love for beat-making and his source of inspiration for it, was and continues to be Timbaland.

“Timbaland just always used these foreign sounding instruments and I’ve always loved that. Because every time I hear an Indian sounding instrument in the top 40, it wakes something up in my DNA,” he said, with a hint of pride.  

Hark said he’s known for quite some time that producing music was what he wanted to do. He’s known since he attended Coachella 2012, to be exact. 

“2012 Coachella had the best lineup. Even the organizers say that,” he noted.

“Every artist that I wanted to see, I got to see in those three days at Coachella 2012. And I remember sitting, soaking in the sunshine and feeling like, ‘this is what I wanna do. I want to produce music, and make people dance,’ and things kinda worked out.”

He said that there’s something special about moving people through music. 

“Once you understand how to make a large crowd move, it's the most intoxicating thing ever,” Hark said.

“You’re like the conductor of energy in that room, and when the music that comes out of the speakers is the music that you produced, it is a different level of satisfaction.”

Hark also spoke to us about his time at Decibel Entertainment as a DJ, and how apart from fuelling his passion as a music producer, the company also gifted him an incredible group of individuals to work with -- people he would call his brothers and sisters. 

“For a long time, people in the South Asian community here have experienced the presence of a glass ceiling, of how high and far we can go.” he said.

“This small group that we have, like Decibel, Snakes and Ladders and 5X, we are shattering that glass ceiling. No one ever thought that we’d be doing a concert, in the middle of Surrey and have it packed and have a solid lineup. People didn’t think that was possible 10 years ago, but the fact that we have such an amazing group of people who are working so hard to push a culture forward, which is something I live by, makes me think we are in a really special time right now.”

Hark’s own record label, Desi Soul Records, puts out music by new Punjabi artists, and as a producer, he thoroughly encourages young musicians to come forward and showcase their passion and talent. 

He said that part of his life mission is to put out as many new artists as possible. He believes strongly in creating content that helps move the South Asian culture forward.

Adidas is definitely a great achievement, but Hark is super excited for people to get vaccinated, and things to open up so we can have concerts back. 

He also has a bunch of projects releasing through Snakes x Ladders and collaborations with artists like Khanvict and Jasmine Sandlas.

It is always a gift for any community to have artists who believe in something bigger than themselves, something that helps an entire community move forward, and something that creates history. With his upcoming projects and endeavours, and commitment to pushing the needle, Hark continues to be one of those forces doing just that within the South Asian community.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Roshni is a self-proclaimed Comedy Queen who specializes in laughing at her own jokes. Her hobbies include making people smile, watching movies and analysing them, reading books, practicing yoga (occasionally), hogging on well-cooked biryani and scrolling through dog videos and memes on Instagram. Her love for writing stems from her love for art in general, which is fuelled by her background in theatre. Catch on her instagram at @roshni_rakshit daily, where she regularly shares her experience with movies and occasionally offends people with her political sense of humour.