Meet Dhruv Mittal | Musician | Session Drummer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dhruv Mittal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dhruv, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
Very simply put, the end goal for me is for my name to be uniquely and creatively associated with my personality and sound on the instrument. Hopefully, I get to record with numerous musicians, leaving behind a catalog documenting the evolution of my sound in a meaningful manner. Playing music brings me great joy, and a fond dream of mine is to tour the world at some point in my career, performing various styles of music I love, at iconic venues and festivals.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Currently based in Hollywood, I am a drummer specializing in instrumental jazz-fusion music. Ironically, my journey started out in progressive/heavy metal and hard rock music. Being in LA has introduced me to so much music, and has resulted in a rather open and versatile ear. I am always up for a challenge, and my past and ongoing gigs/projects have been pretty stylistically contrasting – Sunday morning services at New Birth Bible Church with Michael Sims (Dr. Dre, N.W.A); various RnB/Soul, Alt Rock and Pop gigs around town with different artists; a Saturday night residency at Tatel, Beverly Hills featuring Spanish and Latin music; musical theater; and just recently, an Indian classical-fusion concert with santoor maestro Rahul Sharma at The St. Regis in San Francisco. I love nerding out over gear, and am always obsessed with getting the best drum sounds one can with the given resources and equipment.

Hailing from the city of Kanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India, I was self-taught and grew up in a place with not much exposure to (predominantly) western and contemporary music. My dad must be credited here, for if it wasn’t for his love for music, I would not have picked up an instrument to begin with. Most of my time was spent either jamming on the drums/congas with him on the flute/saxophone/trumpet, or on YouTube, which was my main source of knowledge. I also undertook formal training in Hindustani classical music on the tabla under the guidance of my guru, Dr. Devanand Pathak. I started pursuing my love for drums and music very seriously during my undergraduate days, playing in university ensembles and participating in national level competitions. Following that came a lot of experimentation during the COVID-19 lockdowns, mostly with composing short tunes on the fly and recording/mixing my own drums. That was quite an interesting time in my (and undoubtedly, everybody’s) life, with a lot of good and not-so-good bits. With the love and support of my family, I was able to move to Los Angeles in late 2021, in order to attend Musicians Institute (MI) to pursue an Associate’s degree in Drum Performance. Consequently, I went from a city which (then) had not a single place where I could buy the gear that I longed for, to a city which had music stores the size of supermarkets, and was home to my drumming heroes. From hardly having fellow musicians to learn from and play with, to being completely surrounded with immensely talented musicians and competing to have my voice heard, the culture shock was intense. I have slowly come to terms with it over the years, and have learnt to keep my head up no matter what.

Following my graduation, I have been mainly performing as a session musician and working as faculty at MI. If you’re looking for someone to take on percussive duties for your projects, I’d be very happy to help. As I like to say: dm DM for drums!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For me, live music, picturesque sceneries, good food and craft beer is where it’s really at.

There are countless venues for live music around the city, but two which are a bit extra special to me and which I visit on a regular basis are The Baked Potato and The Hollywood Bowl (during the season). I’ve also recently started going to (somewhat underground) shows organized by Minaret Records, and they are such a bang-for-the-buck. And then there are obviously shows that are part of tours. LA is a spot which most, if not all artists touring NA will have on their map. That is what truly draws me to the city – the quality of talent AND the plethora of avenues and opportunities to assimilate music, in general. Basically, if you are in town, the musical component is non-negotiable; you get the point.

The drive along the Pacific to get to Malibu is always relaxing. I could spend an entire day by the Point Vicente Lighthouse in Rancho Palos Verdes; the views by the cliff are mesmerizing. At par with that would be walking around Marina del Ray and enjoying the architecture. Might be an unpopular opinion, but the Metro A Line ride between Union Station and Pasadena is kinda scenic, and I always love being around Pasadena. The Griffith Observatory is another must-visit. The Original Farmer’s Market by The Grove can be really fun too!

Right off the gate, some excellent places for beer: Highland Park Brewery, The Surly Goat (WeHo), Hop Merchants (NoHo), Monkish Brewing and Smog City Brewing Co. (both Torrance). Always a good hang there with friends, and money spent well. I am a big fan of Mexican food. Nothing beats walking up to local food stalls and trucks and having an assortment of tacos. At the same time, Sonoratown has the best steak burrito I’ve had here till date, and their chips are tough to beat. I love Moo’s Craft Barbecue. The burger at Father’s Office, Arts District is a banger. And of course, the fried chicken at Howlin’ Ray’s is always spot-on. Two more places I frequently visit are Northern Cafe in Monterey Park and India Sweets & Spices in Los Feliz.

A balanced mix of all this would be a great vacation!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
While there are many people – family, friends and teachers, who have been very instrumental in making my journey possible and worthwhile, I would like to dedicate this moment to talk about a very special person in my life: my long-time idol, mentor and friend, Mr. Jai Row Kavi. Apart from being a top-class and extremely refined musician (which I could go on and on about), Jai is a gem of a person and the reason why I started playing drums as a serious musician in the first place. In my opinion, he has been extremely pioneering in the modern Indian independent music scene, being part of so many bands and projects that capture the true essence of the quality musicianship in the country, and is extremely notorious for just being an absolute powerhouse on the drums. Safe bet that I am definitely not alone in feeling this way; most musicians in India grew up idolizing him. Do check out some of his work with Blackstratblues, Indus Creed and Pangea!

Ironically, I actually haven’t had the opportunity of privately studying with him! Yet, he has always been around to talk to me about drums and life beyond, believing in me and pushing me both creatively and emotionally. It is surreal to think that I have had the privilege of knowing him personally, after all these years of following him online and watching him perform. Needless to say, Jai is a big pillar of motivation for me. Very recently, he was performing at the same venue where I first saw him live in 2015. While I wasn’t in India at the time, my family was at the concert and finally met him after the show to convey their gratitude. That was a full-circle moment for me. Thank you, Jai! (IG: jai_row_kavi_)

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dhruv.mi

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhruvmi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dhruv.mi.fb

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DhruvMittalOnTheDrums

Other: Email: dhruvmittal1311@gmail.com

Image Credits
Gazzal Bishnoi, Wayhome