Nucleya Songs: 15 Tracks From Street Boy On

The best Nucleya songs, from Laung Gawacha, Bhayanak Atma and Bakar Bakar to Paintra, Jadi Buti and the 2026 album Diggi Bumba, with the story of each.

Key facts

Real name: Nucleya is the stage name of Udyan Sagar, born 7 December 1979 in Agra and raised in Ahmedabad.
Before Nucleya: He co-founded Bandish Projekt, first called Private Sochalay, which took its new name in 1997.
Hot List: Nucleya led Rolling Stone India's Hot List in 2016.
Spider-Verse: Bakar Bakar plays in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023).
Releases: His main albums, from Koocha Monster (2013) to Diggi Bumba (2026), carry a ℗ Nucleya line on Apple Music.

The best Nucleya songs to start with are Laung Gawacha, Bhayanak Atma, Bakar Bakar, Aaja, Street Boy and Paintra, followed by Mirza, Jadi Buti with Major Lazer, Sathi with Ritviz and the 2026 album Diggi Bumba. Nucleya is the stage name of Udyan Sagar, a producer and DJ from Ahmedabad, now based in Goa, who built a huge following for desi bass, his mix of bass music with Indian street and folk sounds, while releasing most of his music himself.

This guide takes 15 Nucleya songs and releases in order, from the 2013 Koocha Monster EP to his September 2026 single Aala Re Aala. For each one you get the record it came from, who features on it and the story behind it where a source has one.

At a glance

Real name: Udyan Sagar, born 7 December 1979 in Agra and raised in Ahmedabad (Wikipedia, Rolling Stone India).
Before Nucleya: co-founder of Bandish Projekt, the group first called Private Sochalay that took its new name in 1997. He left in 2007 and rebuilt himself as Nucleya (Rolling Stone India, Wikipedia).
Key releases: Koocha Monster (2013), Bass Rani (2015), Raja Baja (2016), Tota Myna (2019), Baaraat with Ritviz (2021), Chamkillah (2024) and Diggi Bumba (2026) (Apple Music).
Label: his main releases carry a (P) Nucleya line on Apple Music, which means he puts them out himself. Film songs such as Paintra are on major labels.
Global moment: Bakar Bakar plays in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) (The Global Indian).
Next big show: Sunburn Festival 2026 at Mahalaxmi Race Course, Mumbai, on 18 and 19 December (Time Out Mumbai).

How Udyan Sagar became Nucleya

Rolling Stone India traces his start to Ahmedabad, where he formed Private Sochalay with his school friend Mayur Narvekar. The group was renamed Bandish Projekt in 1997 and drew on the UK Asian underground sound of the 1990s. The band moved to Dubai in 2002. Wikipedia says he left Bandish Projekt in 2007 after about 12 years with Narvekar and rebuilt himself as Nucleya, and that his career struggled at first.

The turn towards South Indian sounds came in 2010, he told Rolling Stone India, when he was asked to remix a song for the Hindi film Ishqiya and wanted to make it more Indian than a typical disco remix. That interest shaped Koocha Monster and everything after it. He married the artist and graphic designer Smriti Choudhary in 2008, and the couple live in Goa with their son Guri (Wikipedia, Hindustan Times). Our guide to the Goa music scene covers the place he now calls home.

1. Street Boy (2013)

Street Boy opens Koocha Monster, the six-track EP released on 14 October 2013 under (P) 2013 Nucleya, according to Apple Music. Nucleya told Rolling Stone India that the track was made for Ishqiya but was rejected. He was disheartened but "madly in love with it", so he saved it for the EP.

Scroll reported that his manager Tej Brar picked the six Koocha Monster tracks from 40 songs, and that the EP is where Nucleya's rise began.

2. Bangla Bass and New Delhi Nuttah (2013)

The rest of Koocha Monster is worth playing in order. Apple Music lists Bell Gadi, Akkad Bakkad, Bangla Bass with Mou Sultana and Brooklyn Shanti, Jamrock and New Delhi Nuttah with Delhi Sultanate. Bangla Bass and New Delhi Nuttah show how he was already working with vocalists from different scenes on his first big record.

3. Laung Gawacha (2015)

Laung Gawacha, featuring the singer Avneet Khurmi, opens Bass Rani and is one of his most searched songs. Bass Rani came out on 7 September 2015 under (P) 2015 Nucleya (Apple Music). Hindustan Times reported that the album was launched at a Ganesh visarjan event in Mumbai, with Nucleya playing to thousands of people from the top of a truck fitted with huge speakers. Mid-day places that launch on the streets of Girgaon.

4. Aaja (2015)

Aaja, also from Bass Rani, features Avneet Khurmi and Guri Gangsta. Hindustan Times reported that Guri Gangsta is Nucleya's son, whose voice he had always wanted on the album. The other tracks on Bass Rani are the title track, Chennai Bass with Sivamani and Chinna Ponnu, Heer with Shruti Pathak and Mumbai Dance.

5. Jungle Raja and Little Lotto (2015)

Jungle Raja, with the rapper DIVINE, and Little Lotto, by Alo Wala and Nucleya with MC Zulu, both won Best Electronica Single at the 2016 Global Indian Music Awards, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia lists Jungle Raja with the 2015 Bass Rani songs. Nucleya later told Scroll that he had worked with DIVINE "a bunch" before Paintra, and this is where that partnership starts.

6. Bhayanak Atma (2016)

Bhayanak Atma, featuring Gagan Mudgal, is the first song Google suggests after typing his name, ahead of Laung Gawacha and Aaja. It is on Raja Baja, the six-track EP released on 3 September 2016 under (P) 2016 Nucleya (Apple Music). Rolling Stone India, which put him at the top of its Hot List 2016, noted that he released Raja Baja in a stadium after launching Bass Rani at a visarjan procession.

He returned to the song a decade later. The 2026 album Diggi Bumba ends with Bhayanak Atma (VIP), again with Gagan Mudgal (Apple Music).

7. Bakar Bakar (2016)

Bakar Bakar closes Raja Baja and became his biggest international placement. The Global Indian reported that the track played in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in June 2023, during the scene where Spider-Man lands in India, and that it took Nucleya twelve song pitches before his music was picked for the film.

8. Scene Kya Hai (2016)

Scene Kya Hai is the Raja Baja track credited to Nucleya and DIVINE. The EP also includes Take Me There with KAVYA, Jind Mahi with Avneet Khurmi and Lights. For more of the rappers he has worked with, see our list of the best Indian rappers in 2026.

9. Let's Nacho (2016)

Let's Nacho, from the film Kapoor & Sons, was adapted from Tamil Fever, a 2014 track by Nucleya and Benny Dayal, according to Wikipedia. The film version is sung by Benny Dayal and Badshah.

10. Paintra (2017)

Paintra is the lead song from Anurag Kashyap's boxing drama Mukkabaaz, made with DIVINE. Scroll reported that the video came out on YouTube on 1 December 2017 and described the song as a Hindi heartland version of Eye of the Tiger. Nucleya told Scroll that Amit Trivedi called to say Kashyap was trying to reach him, that the first lyrics were written by actor Vineet Singh and then reworked by DIVINE, and that the song was written for a specific moment in the film. The Mukkabaaz soundtrack carries a (P) 2018 Sony Music India line (Apple Music).

11. Mirza (2019)

Mirza, featuring Rashmeet Kaur and Raftaar, is from Tota Myna, the six-track EP released on 13 March 2019 under (P) 2019 Nucleya (Apple Music). The EP also includes Lori with Vibha Saraf, Sohneya, Mahiya, Out of Your Mind with Shruti Haasan and Going to America with Anirudh Ravichander and Anthony Daasan.

12. Jadi Buti (2020)

Jadi Buti teamed Nucleya with Major Lazer and the singer Rashmeet Kaur. Wikipedia lists it on Major Lazer's Music Is the Weapon (Reloaded), with a Nucleya VIP remix in 2021.

13. Sathi and Baaraat (2021)

Baaraat is a four-track EP with the producer and singer Ritviz, released on 4 October 2021 (Apple Music). The Statesman, reporting the first single Sathi in August 2021, said it was the pair's first collaboration and that the two would be among the first musicians in India to work with NFTs. Nucleya said NFTs were "a disruptive way for artists to put themselves out there and build on relationships with their fans". The other tracks are Ari Ari, Roz and Baaraat.

14. Khoye Panchi and Kobita (2024)

Chamkillah, the five-track EP released on 12 July 2024 under (P) 2024 Nucleya, brought in a new set of voices (Apple Music). Khoye Panchi features Osho Jain, Kobita features Zubeen Garg with PUNA, and lightyears features Tsumyoki. Jogi and Kamli complete the EP. If you like Khoye Panchi, read our profile of Osho Jain.

15. Diggi Bumba and Aala Re Aala (2026)

Diggi Bumba is his ten-track 2026 album, released on 15 January 2026 under (P) 2026 Nucleya (Apple Music). The title track is credited to Nucleya and Anu Malik, and the album also includes Gup Chup, Death Roll with Arya Dhayal, Jogan, Nerenge Nerenge with Benny Dayal and the Bhayanak Atma VIP. Mid-day interviewed him about the album at SulaFest 2026, describing him as the pioneer of the desi bass movement in India.

His latest single, Aala Re Aala with Divya Kumar, came out on 11 September 2026, again under (P) 2026 Nucleya, along with a second version called Aala Re Aala Chintamani (Apple Music).

Nucleya live in 2026

Time Out Mumbai lists Nucleya among the supporting acts for Sunburn Festival 2026, which runs on 18 and 19 December at Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai, with The Chainsmokers, Jason Derulo, DJ Snake and Sebastian Ingrosso as headliners. It called him "the ultimate home-turf pick". Our music festivals in India 2026 calendar tracks the rest of the season.

FAQ

What is Nucleya's real name?

His real name is Udyan Sagar. He was born on 7 December 1979 in Agra, grew up in Ahmedabad and now lives in Goa.

What are Nucleya's most famous songs?

His best known songs are Laung Gawacha and Aaja from Bass Rani (2015), Bhayanak Atma and Bakar Bakar from Raja Baja (2016), and Paintra from the Mukkabaaz soundtrack with DIVINE.

Which Nucleya song is in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse?

Bakar Bakar, from his 2016 EP Raja Baja, plays in the film during the scene where Spider-Man lands in India.

Is Nucleya an independent artist?

His main records, from Koocha Monster in 2013 to Diggi Bumba in 2026, carry a (P) Nucleya line on Apple Music, so he releases them himself. His film songs, such as Paintra, are released by major labels.

What genre is Nucleya?

He makes electronic bass music. Mid-day calls him the pioneer of the desi bass movement in India, which blends bass music with Indian street, folk and film sounds.