Indie-musicians are coming together like never before. Whether it is through collectives, collaborations and even their own on-line radio, young artists are pushing boundaries of their music by working together. This month, a major chunk of our playlist features these experimental efforts along with some pop (yes, you read that right) because monsoon has been a bit slow for rockers. (only promotions, no note-worthy new releases). Here is the freshest, newest music of the lot. Check it out. Tune In. Tune Out.
Pulpy Shilpy/ Kaadal Manan
The debut single of Gauri Jayakumar under her sassy moniker Pulpy Shilpy is perfect. Kaadal Manan loosely translates into Romeo in Tamil and is inspired by the character played by actor Gemini Ganesan. The song explores the idea of motherhood and the expectations that are placed on it in Indian society. This is the first time Jayakumar has featured into hip-hop and the single is a prelude to her upcoming EP and after hearing what it sounds like, we can hardly wait for the whole deal. When we grow up, we want to be Pulpy Shilpy.
Jwala/Where There’s Smoke
It’s the season of collectives— sparkle&fade (Palash Kothari), Ayush (Aysh Jajoria), chrms (Veer Kowli), Cowboy Sailor Man(Apurv Agarwal), zzz / Three Oscillators (Brij Dalvi), Moebius (NIkunj Patel), and Karan Kanchan (Karan Kanchan), have gotten together recently to form Jwala. And within days of this announcement, they’ve debuted a 9 track EP which is as eclectic as it is restrained and beautiful. You will have a hard time picking a favourite from this collection as all the compositions on it are well thought out and fit right in. Even Pulp Shilpy makes a cameo. Don’t miss it.
Dasta/SSP
Sandunes, OX7GEN, Oceantied, Zokhuma, Kumail and Tarqeeb had the idea for the collective one evening while hanging out. They felt a need to mindfully come together and Dasta was born. Ever since its formation Dasta has been teasing us with promises of an EP and finally it’s here. The 6 song EP is an experimental project in which the artists have tried to “gamefy” music. “The 6 of us put in a sample each into a shared folder and had exactly 1 week to finish a song using all 6 samples. We did this exercise 4 times and picked our personal favourites for this compilation. Some of the samples can be heard quite clearly, but some of them have been warped, stretched and altered beyond recognition,” they wrote on their bandcamp page.
Aarya Gadkari/One Year, One House
You might remember him from the reality TV show The Stage, where he almost made it to the Top 10. In the one year since the show, Gadkari has kept himself busy composing and writing songs for his debut EP. Strictly a pop effort, it deserves a mention for all the passion and originality that this 19-year-old has mustered for music.
VridianMusic/Turbulent
While they work on releasing their EP, Depth Perception, the Pune based duo has released their new single Turbulent. The 7 minute track is sure to keep you grooving with its seamless electro transitions as it introduces new instruments. Check it out.
