BANGALORE: Sarvesh Shrivastava, who has been making waves in the indie music scene since his debut release Outburst, which was out in 2012, recently released his latest EP, The Ladakh Project. Released under his popular moniker SickFlip, the five-track EP is an ode to the breathtaking landscapes of the hilly region.
The Ladakh Project doesn’t limit itself to the EP though. It also includes a stunning audio-visual showcase, as well as a music video.
Created in collaboration with The Outbox Project – a collective of photographers, cinematographers and visual artists – the showcase is made of experimental, often ambient and minimal tunes made on site, contrasted with those of the surrounding land of Ladakh, coupled with the gorgeous views the region offers.
Besides writing content whilst sitting on hilltops overlooking unimaginable beauty from Nubra Valley to Pangong Tso lake, SickFlip has also craftily included sounds from the region itself, such as those of monks chanting, Tibetan instruments and the rivers gushing and bellowing.
The eclectic mix of visuals by The Outbox Project include panoramic shots of the gorgeous Pangong Tso lake, white sand deserts and places of religious and spiritual worship.
“After my trip to Ladakh in 2013 with friends, I felt the need to return with my gear, so I could transfigure my interpretation of this experience into music. The purpose of this trip was to be able to come back and share the experience with audiences through the audio-visual,” says Sarvesh.
He wanted this trip to be about the entire experience, so Sarvesh got The Outbox Project collective on board to capture the essence of the journey through time-lapse, videos and still photography over the two weeks that they spent in Ladakh.
“In particular, the expanse of the extremely surreal landscapes, serenity to its horizons and the general zen overtone of the Ladakh region were some of the things that intrigued us,” he adds.
While they were in Ladakh, both entities (SickFlip and The Outbox Project) had an idea of the vibe they were going for, Sarvesh informs.
“I think we managed to work quite efficiently, considering external factors like extreme temperatures on most nights. The filming and the music making were creative processes that happened together in Ladakh. The post production and edits, however, were later executed in our respective studios in Mumbai,” he says.
The folks at The Outbox Project and Sarvesh know each other from their school days, which only helped things along. “Having known this bunch of videographers, cinematographers and visual artists for more than 10 years now, we were at a brilliantly efficient resonant level of creation and ideation of our content,” he explains.
However, working in sub-zero temperatures came with its own set of challenges. “This time around it was more physically challenging than our previous visit because we decided to go in May due to time constraints, which is slightly colder than the best time to be there which is July/August. By slightly colder, I mean -20 degrees Celsius at Pangong Tso lake and a maximum of 10 degrees Celsius throughout our journey. The agenda of the trip was solely The Ladakh Project, so we went on strong,” he says.
Sarvesh worked in these tough surroundings with a minimalist set-up. “I had my laptop, extra batteries, a portable keyboard controller and a decent pair of headphones that allowed me to literally sit down anywhere I found inspiration and energy through our journey, and write music for hours together. This resulted in highly qualitative pieces of music that somewhere conveyed what I was taking in,” he explains.
Working on The Ladakh Project gave Sarvesh an immense amount of perspective on a lot of creative levels.
“Some of them being my approach to sound design selection of sounds and instruments, arrangement of elements and a great deal of experience in working with visual artists,” he says.
SickFlip will play the EP live at Indigo Live, Koramangala on September 12. The EP is now up for free download and can be streamed on SickFlip’s Soundcloud page.