BANGALORE: Five earworms to last the week, these tracks are fresh off the Indian indie scene and can be all heard online for free. Here’s our pick for week
number 1.
In Hi Ko - Lifafa
Suryakant Sawhney aka Lifafa’s latest offering, a four track EP titled In Hi Ko is a disco infused experimental electronica journey that will take you down the roads of nostalgia fairly quickly. So far, The Peter Cat Recording Co. frontman in his solo effort has been as off the hook and inventive as ever, and In Hi Ko has been no different. The track of the album is again easily the title track. Retaining glitch hop elements, Sawhney takes us back to the ‘70s Bollywood disco that we’ve all loved at some point.
Distant, repetitive and heavily modulated vocals evoke a sense of forlorn love and a haunted quality that surprisingly combines well with foot tapping beats and a catchy synth hook. Lo-fi disco at its best, this dreamy track is definitely a summer favourite.
Feather - Frame/Frame (Sulk Station Remix)
A kaleidoscope of sounds and words, the Bangalore based Sulk Station’s remix of Frame/Frame off his Swimmers EP is simply a genius work of art. Going straight into the melodic hook taking away some of the other worldly sounds first conceptualised by Frame/Frame, the Sulk Station duo keep it minimalistic, grounding the song all at once. The sound grows organically through the entirety of Feather and the surprise addition of Tanvi Rao’s magical vocals to the previously wordless song is quite a treat.
Pimp the
Disco - Madboy/Mink
Brightening things up is Madboy/Mink’s Pimp the Disco track, fresh off their debut EP All Ball. Saba Azad’s sassy, in your face vocals is just what you’ll probably need next Friday evening when you’re ready to hit the dance floor. But what this track really does is show-off Imaad Shah’s compositional prowess - a massive bassline takes its own sweet time to develop showing clever restraint and slowly falls into shifting melodies (oh those sweet guitars) and a sample or two before the duo’s chorus falls again to give way to Saba Azad’s vocals. Again mostly a disco song with electro-swing influences, Pimp the Disco is going to be a Friday night favourite for some time to come.
Big City Harmonics - Fill Your Dragon
Probably the Pune based producer’s most popular and “easy-listening” offering, Fill Your Dragon is a samples heavy track that is perfect for an introspective night in. The song begins with a barely audible sliver of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago speech and tinkers with new aural spaces that can be best described as ambient with very slight dance music infusions. The song really picks up when Yukimi Nagano’s vocals from Little Dragon’s wildly popular ‘Twice’ makes an appearance.
Who Would Have Thought - Your Chin
From Your Chin aka Raxit Tewari’s sophomore EP, comes this little gem of a track. Tewari’s vocals are what indie hipsters’ dreams are made of - free of frills, completely organic and full of heart. The Sky Rabbit frontman creates a wholesome track, combining his signature drawl with a loopy synth line that builds up to give way to nothingness. This one’s going to be a repeat listen.