NYC-based Adam Ahuja is a jazz/x-genre touring and recording artist, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist, and creator of the #intheloop live-looping style. During performances, Ahuja loops multiple instruments live on the spot: keyboards & key-bass, singing & rhyming, and beatboxing & drums, often loop recording audience members live on stage to make new music together. Adam is also a keys & creativity coach and founder of the Infinity Gritty music label.
Adam Ahuja looks down at his keyboard. It contains a universe of sounds. Mini drum-pads are flanked to the right. A microphone is set straight in front of the rig. Above sits a multi-track live-loop recorder – a canvas ready to capture and replay anything that’s performed live. All of the music will be created from scratch, right here, right now…
Drawing influence from the spheres of jazz, rock, funk, soul, hip-hop, electronic, world, and some Vanilla Ice dance partying at age six, NYC-based live-looping artist and keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Adam Ahuja melds a love for groove with an obsession with harmony, flavoring compositions with metaphysically-bent singing and rhymes.
Flowing between the keys, drums, bass, guitar, percussion, and vocals isn’t always a purely solo venture for Ahuja. Audience members at shows, whether musicians or not, are often invited onstage to be recorded into Ahuja’s live-looping gear, creating new interactive music in the moment. Such “intheloop” creations have been enjoyed at venues such as Relix Magazine Headquarters, Sofar Sounds locations across three continents, and virtually as well. As Goldmine Magazine puts it, Ahuja “breathes new life into the one-man-band concept.”
Ahuja’s career path has metamorphosed: from pre-med and strategic consulting, to keyboard-freelancing the streets of NYC, to musical collaboration with artists such as Meatloaf in the studio and Robert Randolph on the road, to ultimately honing his solo craftwork, landing artist features in Spotify’s New Music Friday and at Blue Note Jazz Club, NYC. Ahuja is also an active collaborator with like-minded colleagues, regularly releasing “x-genre” joint-works on his own label, Infinity Gritty. Along each step of the journey, Ahuja reminds himself to heed the inspiration from late mentor and former Blue Note Records CEO, Bruce Lundvall: never stop listening.
NYC-based Adam Ahuja is an x-genre live-looping artist, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist, and entrepreneur who has drawn international recognition as a touring artist, composer, and producer. Ahuja’s influences range from from jazz, rock, world, funk, hip-hop, electronic, and some Vanilla Ice dance partying at age six, amalgamating a sound that melds a love for the groove, an affinity for harmonic exploration, and an expression of metaphysically-bent lyricism.
When Ahuja plays live, he offers what he calls a #intheloop experience: drawing upon a range of electronic and organic instruments to record and loop performances live, without the use of pre-recorded sampled parts. Ahuja’s shows often involve interactive participation recording the audience members themselves, bringing them on to the stage and giving a personal connection to the performance.
Ahuja’s adept performances and novel approach to the “one man band” paradigm has led to artist features in Relix Magazine, Apple Music, Goldmine Magazine, amongst others, and has led to hosting creativity and entrepreneurship-driven workshops at NYU Clive Davis Institute, Musicians Institute, University of the Arts, and US State Department-sponsored events. As Goldmine Magazine puts it, Ahuja “breathes new life into the one-man-band concept.”
Ahuja’s sense of the contemporary music scene prompted him to establish Infinity Gritty, a global music label and consultancy. The label focuses on pushing the creative limits of artistic expression at the intersection of jazz and beyond, and has landed him features in Spotify’s State of Jazz playlist, Atwood Magazine, Mathematical Association of America, and others. Key projects include the 40-person pandemic remote collaboration “The People of 2020” and “Ancient Scrolling,” a social media detox record, both produced by Ahuja, and Ahuja’s own “Ubiquity” record. As the late Bruce Lundvall, former CEO of Blue Note Records and Columbia Records, said of Ahuja’s music: “very exciting live, the writing is impressive and the musicians are at a very high level.”
Along his career path, a few of Ahuja’s collaborative highlights include writing and recording in-studio guitar parts for rock-legends Meatloaf featuring Brian May of Queen, jamming on stage with musicians such as Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, Questlove of The Roots, and Kenny Wayne Shepard, opening for legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea, landing endorsement deals with Nord Keyboards (‘Artist of the Month’), and co-founding and co-creating with NYC multi-genre project “The Flowdown.” Ahuja was also a past musician-member of touring acts as such as Robert Randolph & Family Band, Ana Popovic Band, and Vanessa Collier Band.
Adam Ahuja has headlined or performed at a wide range of US and international festivals and venues, include Blue Note Jazz Festival (USA), Musikfest (USA), Victoria Jazz Festival (Canada), Tout por Tous Festival (France), Club Milla Night (Germany), Gypsy Jazz-Fest (New Caledonia), Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise (Caribbean), Great Mississippi Balloon Race (USA), Unifier Festival (USA), DiscJam Festival (USA), and Sofar Sounds (USA, Germany, Brazil).
With a background that began in pre-med and strategy consulting prior to a career in music, Ahuja has advised organizations through approach drawn from systems thinking, multiple-perspective comparison, sustainability, and ideation, bringing a unique set of influences into his creative pursuits. Ahuja holds a Master’s in Public Policy (MBA) from University of Konstanz in Germany and BSBA in Management and Pre-Med from Bucknell University, and enjoys a good philosophical conversation every now and then.
includes work as an artist, composer, or session player.
bold = as an artist or a primary composer/producer
2024, “Denn Diese Seelen” – Adam Ahuja, E Scott Lindner ft. Kate Goldbas, Jake Goldbas
2024, “World Traveler” – Aleksi Glick
2024, “Inspired Minds: Uplifting Hip Hop Mantra Music” – Various Artists
2023, “COZY” – SUUZ
2023, “Ancient Scrolling” – Adam Ahuja, Johnny Butler, E Scott Lindner
2023, “Light & Soul” – Foam Collective, West One Music Group
2023, “Dance Into A Dream” – Foam Collective, Warner Chappell Production Music
2023, “New Bloom” – James Casey
2023, “Origins” – NOON, Adam Ahuja, Todd Gayor, Anthony Muthurajah, E Scott Lindner
2022, “Odyssey” – NOON
2022, “Foliage Fire” – E Scott Lindner
2021, “We Three Kings” – Adam Ahuja, Neel Murgai, Pablo Eluchans (Merry Pinchmas)
2021, “Nubiyan Dance” – NOON ft. Weedie Braimah, Adam Ahuja
2021, “ON YOUR WAY UP” – RoSaWay
2021, “Dialogue Sessions” – E Scott Lindner
2021, “I Ain’t Comin’ In” – SiFi
2021, “Groove Move Move” – Various, AMP Music / MPATH / EMI
2021, “Sessions” – The New York Comedy Club
2021, “Self-Inflicted Voodoo” – Charley Row
2021, “As If We Were” – April Quartet, Stay in Shape Vol. 1
2020, “Stranger” – RoSaWay
2020, “yo-lk” – The Flowdown
2020, “Ghost X” – Project K-Paz
2020, “Kids of Summer” – Monotronic
2020, “The People of 2020” – The People of 2020
2020, “Sometimes I” – SUUZ
2020, “In Flowers Through Space” – E Scott Lindner
2019, “Walk” – RoSaWay
2019, “Over the Rainbow (live-looping)” – Adam Ahuja
2019, “Monotronic” – Monotronic
2019, “Buddy Cop Movie” – Keith Tryfle Hudson
2019, “Count the Clocks” – Zhou Kroix
2019, “Barrel Roll” – CakeDrop
2019, “Roller Coaster” – SUUZ
2019, “Visions of a Lethargic Sun” – VSUS
2019, “Don’t Let Me Go” – SiFi
2019, “Stranger,” – RoSaWay
2018, “Earth Song” – Anna Diorio
2018, “Duff’s Groove” – Noon
2018, “Port of Dreams” – E Scott Lindner
2018, “Firebrand” – DB3
2018, “FREEDOM” – RoSaWay
2018, “Calling Out Your Name” – SiFi
2018, “Post-Something” – Project K-Paz
2018, “Edge Detection” – Escaper
2018, “Leesta Vall Sessions” – Natalie Hart
2018, “From a Dream” – Bob DiGiacomo
2018, “Forget Your Face” – Keith Tryfle Hudson
2017, “Ubiquity” – Adam Ahuja
2017, “E. Scott Lindner” – E. Scott Lindner
2017 “Skeleton Key” – Escaper
2017 “The Game We’re In,” “Ruler” – Nemiss
2017, “Henry Grant EP” – Henry Grant
2017, “Chelsea Berry” – Wanderbird
2017, “Indiggative” – Digg Deep
2017, “About Time” – Bob DiGiacomo
2017, “Dig on Me” – Brady Oh
2017, “Why Would I” – Lumos
2016, “WorldSpeak” – The Flowdown
2016, “Only Wonder” – Lumos
2016, “Everyday Blues” – John Minnock
2015, “A Positive Light” – Kuf Knotz
2015, “A Divided Place” – The Lilted
2014, “The Realness” – Srikalogy
2014, “Sing the World Awake” – Reya Manna
2014, “First Impressions” – Alejandro Meola
2014, “Please” – Alejandro Meola
2014, “Black Feathered Angel” – Alejandro Meola
2013, “Do You Hear What I Hear?!” – Adam Ahuja
2013, “Balance” – Adam Ahuja
2013, “In Love” – EarthRise SoundSystem
2012, “Glory & Blues” – Boogie Rock Boys
2012, “Rory Sullivan & The Second Season” – Rory Sullivan
2011, “Metamorphosis” – The Flowdown
2011, “Expose” – Miles
2010, “Hang Cool Teddy Bear” – Meatloaf
2010, “Freedom is the Basis” – Srikalogy
2005, “The Synthesis” – Flow Down Street Six
2004, “ToxicSheep: DC Sessions” – Adam Ahuja
2001, “Quacks” – The Baba Yaga
2000, “Live at Musikfest” – The Baba Yaga
1999, “Toxic Sheep: Fort Lauderdale Sessions” – Adam Ahuja
-Nord Keyboards
-Motion Sounds Amps
-Otherworld Computing
-Artist Relations
Accolades: