A touch of rustic Indian folk layered with techno-inspired electronic music defines the style of electronic music duo Tech Panda and Kenzani. The Delhi-based producers’ brand of folk-fused electronic music has given them record-breaking hits such as ‘Dilbar,’ ‘Khoyo’, and ‘Indian Monsoon’, which have fetched them millions of views on YouTube.
But this season, the duo shifts their focus from subtle Indian folktronica to high-energy track tailored for the dancefloor. They drop ‘Ek Tara’, which, unlike their last few productions, is percussion-heavy with chords and synths building up to a swirling crescendo. The track begins on a head-banging note with electronic beats. Midway singer Mitika Kanwar’s soft and hypnotic vocals tell the tale of a lover who is yearning to see the love of her life. The vocals almost float over the soundscape, balancing the groovy beats with a transcendental quality. “There’s a certain ease when it comes to working with Kanwar — she really gets the vibe right from the word go. Her versatility and unique vocal range makes us always want to come back to collaborating with her,” says Tech Panda on joining forces with the frequent collaborator.
Telling us about the production, Kenzani says, “We quite enjoyed the instrumental journey which featured the use of our synthesizers such as the Moog Sub 37, MIDI keyboards as well digital VSTs. Once the instrumental was completed, we played it out to Kanwar in the recording studio and voila! She instantly felt it and started singing her heart out on top of the track. Within a week from that day, the song was finalised.”
The duo is always “rethinking” their approach to music production and looking to create soundscapes that audiences feel connected to. For this, they have been recently experimenting with Afro-tech. It’s a subgenre that emerged in the 2010s when music producers and DJs fused traditional African rhythms with pulsating electronic music featuring layered basslines, drums, synths and lead. It gained popularity as a dance-music style played in clubs and music festivals. The duo used hints of this genre in past songs like ‘Heer’ and ‘Sada’. However, ‘Ek Tara’ is their first song that distinctly shows tapping on this genre.
“I think the rise of Indian Electronica and currently Afro-tech points to the trend that the audiences want to hear sounds that feel more rooted and nostalgic, and we are just trying to do our best in the ever-evolving music scene. With this song, we have added our unique Indian flavour to the genre, giving it a standout style and room to grow. We strategically added these influences because we want to specifically create something that has the potential to grow globally,” says Tech Panda.
For the duo, an inclination towards a new music genre is part of evolution as artistes.“It is in our innate nature to keep changing our sound and tailor it to the emotions we feel at a certain time. We wanted to elevate the energy level at music festivals so we knew we needed dramatic, big soundtracks that built and released tension in a mind-boggling manner,” says Tech Panda as Kenzani adds, “During the past year, we have felt the need to create more fiery sounds that invoke a different kind of excitement within us, and ‘Ek-Tara’ has been like a bridge in that way. This song literally started the fire within us once again!”