Hello, and welcome to a brand-new feature here at Top Five Records! Today, we wanted to dive into five great songs that we’ve heard from new artists who have submitted music to us from all over the world. Without further ado, here’s our inaugural New Artist Roundup from Top Five Records!
EIN SAM is a young electronic musician based out of Bristol, UK with three songs so far under his belt. The second of these tracks, “Stuck Pig”, was released at the start of the year. The track features a meandering bassline and slow-paced drums that form a great foundation for EIN SAM’s deliberate vocal style. The song itself is, in the artist’s own words, “about inner and outer divisions”, and he does well in portraying that through his lyrics about being neither here nor there (see lyric video above). The song’s fuzzy psychedelic rock gives us vibes of Mazzy Star, so if that’s your cup of tea, be sure to give this a listen.
Metro is a young four-piece band hailing from Palo Alto, California. “Letters”, the band’s second song so far, starts off with dreamy instrumentals that are joined by singer Marina Buendia’s folksy, quivering vocals. The entire song is built on a concept of personified Winter and Summer writing letters to each other, and kudos to Metro for making that seem much more quaint than you’d expect. The band’s dream-pop vibes sound like a sweeter, stripped down version of Tame Impala – not bad for a bunch of teenagers. If you liked this track, you can check out their first song “Her”.
Washington D.C.-based Gede makes music that defies neat little genre boxes. Gede describes his own music as a combination of big beats, distorted guitars, bass and much more, and cites artists as diverse as Tame Impala and Gary Clark Jr. as his inspirations. “Sinners”, from his 2021 album Forward, is a great example of that. The track features Gede’s contemporary rap bars set against electric blues-rock – with jazzier interplays that could easily feature on, say, a heist movie montage. If you liked this track, you should definitely give the rest of the new album a spin.
British musician Gallery 47 (real name Jack Peachey) makes introspective, acoustic guitar-driven music reminiscent of folky artists such as Elliott Smith or Nick Drake. His latest track, “Angel Follows Me Out”, is a two-and-a-half minute ditty with pretty acoustics that play well with the quiet, melancholic vocals. The song really focuses on the deft guitar work with not more than four to five sentences of actual lyrics; but the end result is a clean, simple but haunting piece of music. If you liked that track, then you’re in luck: Gallery 47 is a highly prolific musician with four (!) albums in 2020 alone.
Canadian singer-songwriter Nuela Charles has been slowly making a name for herself since her debut album Aware (2012). Her sophomore album, The Grand Hustle (2016), featuring the slow-burning pop track “Crumbling Down”, was even nominated for the JUNOs (the Canadian equivalent of the GRAMMYs), and she’s garnered numerous awards and charting positions in her native Canada over the years. Charles’ signature sound seems to be contrasting her silky-smooth vocals – think Ariana Grande or our new fav Celeste – against a big-band bass, horns and drums type of production. Her latest single “Space” (created with Juice WRLD producer her Don Mills) falls squarely in this niche. Much like Grande’s “NASA”, space here refers to the physical and emotional distance between Charles and her lover, except as a twist, it seems like Charles is the one trying to pull the other person back in (“I don’t need space / you told me you needed space”). Great entry point into a singer that is bound to break big very soon.
I’m a sucker for a certain style of art. I love books by Kazuo Ishiguro and David Mazzucchelli. I love Machinarium and Old Man’s Journey. I loved the animated movie L’Illusioniste. I also love lo-fi indie rock records.
I love the gentleness and the intelligence and the melancholy. I love the quiet and the lack of hurry and the sincerity. I love the way they feel. And with this list, I’m going to give you 5 (plus a bonus) of the ones I love the most.
Honorable Mention. Sufjan Stevens – Should Have Known Better
This is a delicate, gossamer track. Sufjan’s singing is a caress and that softness animates the track. It’s a very hazy, very ambiguous track and that’s key to the whole aesthetic. You don’t want full sentences or a full story. The empty space is the point. This is magical realism as music.
That gentleness and obscurity accentuate the melancholy of the music. The title tells you the emotion that the song wants to convey, but by itself, it would be flat. The attraction of this music is in the texture. It’s in pushing a feeling that you can’t pin down, but can only hint at. He sings “I should have known better / Nothing can be changed / The past is still the past / The bridge to nowhere / I should have wrote a letter / Explaining what I feel, that empty feeling” but his voice doesn’t carry regret, but lightness instead. It’s accepting of what has happened, not recriminating. Melancholy doesn’t have to hurt.
5. Girlpool – Chinatown
This is still lo-fi, still indie, but this is a track with an edge to it. Where “Should Have Known Better” is soft and gentle, this is a track that’s not shy about its pain. It’s a misfit’s song and so sharp it cut itself. “I’m still looking for sureness in the way I say my name” is a razor blade and the loud of “I am nervous for tomorrow and today” after the soft of the chorus has all of the emotion of Nirvana but with millennial anxiety instead of 90s angst and “If I loved myself, would I take it the wrong way” is a line both painfully smart and just painful.
4. Ghostpoet – Meltdown
Ghostpoet may not be the most traditional pick for a list like this, but “Meltdown” hits all the right notes for inclusion. It’s the sadness of a missed opportunity and of the gap between knowing that you should act and acting itself. It’s a hazy and indeterminate song, it doesn’t feel like any particular moment, but instead of a period that blends together in memory into a singular feeling.
It’s also strikingly urban in a genre that’s typically small-town. Normally, these songs are situated in a suburb that’s easily painted sepia, but this song feels like I walk I once took at 2AM in San Francisco as things fell apart. It was cold and the mist muddled the brightness of the streetlights and passing cars and the blurriness contrasted with the sharp, wet pinpricks of the air outside. It’s every bit as cinematic as anything else on here, but with a very different palette and for all of its differences, it holds all the same quality.
3. The National – I Need My Girl
You cannot write a list like this without The National. They’re the poster child of this kind of cinematic melancholy. Indeed, movies of this ilk turn immediately to the National for a reason. I was tempted to pick “Pull of You” or “I Am Easy To Find” off their latest album instead of this track. I Am Easy To Find took the giant step forward of adding female vocalists to their track and so balancing out their biggest flaw, their preoccupation with themselves.
It is for that preoccupation that I picked this track though, to highlight that clear single point of view that so typifies the genre. It’s in choosing self-flagellation over making amends. It’s in how the fault was his and yet he is still centered in the song. He needs his girl.
That inability to understand animates the song though. This is the music of having made a mistake and being the kind of person who can’t fix it. Were it not for the delicate skill of the music, this song would be nothing, but instead it is the perfect distillation of the wistfulness of past wrongs.
2. Speedy Ortiz – No Below
I spent months singing the chorus of this song over and over again. I didn’t even sing the full thing, just “I was better off just being dead / Better off just being dead.” There’s something about the tone of Sadie Dupuis as she sings that I cannot resolve in my mind and so it sticks to me. Her singing is sweet and rough and jars so sharply against the song’s content, which in turn is so clearly enunciated that you cannot miss a single word and which itself communicates fatigue so cleanly.
Sometimes, things change you and you just stay changed. Some things are permanent. Sometimes, you can have all of the pieces you need to be happy, but you’re just not a person who can be happy in the way you used to be. It’s just not in your range anymore.
The distortion at the end of the song is everything here. The song is built on some very efficient storytelling. It’s honest, vivid narrative all the way through, and then the vocals stop and the guitar’s screech gives you some space for your own thoughts, and as this song describes, there are few better ways to lacerate.
1. Better Oblivion Community Center – Service Road
I’ve written a lot about things like magical realism and cinematic qualities in this list, but no song does that better than “Service Road.” It’s exceptionally clever and that results in truly excellent storytelling. “Asking strangers to forgive him / But he never told them what it is / He did to them that made him feel so bad” is evocative and open-ended and so the best of what the genre has to offer. Truly excellent melancholy is not mere sadness nor mere self-reproach, but needs the intelligence both to trap the singer and to enthrall the listener.
The comes through in the music as well. The simple, effective guitar frames the vocals very well and gives them space to be gentle, human and regretful. Where some of the other songs here have jagged edges, this one slips into you without a ripple and never leaves. I do wish that it had more Phoebe Bridgers though.
It ends on such an open note though. It ends with motion, with the feeling of freedom. Maybe that’s the only way for these to end. These are stories about life and there are no true conclusions there. Things go on.
The sharpness of a regret is not in it happening, but in living with it having happened, but maybe there’s a second side to that. It’s not in redemption or in self-improvement or forgiveness. It’s not even in having a fresh start. It’s just that tomorrow exists. It’s not a new day or a fresh page and it can’t change what happened today, but it still exists, both as blessing and as curse.
Bangalore-based Tushar Mathur has made quite a splash in the short time since he’s gone solo. With two singles out already, “Mend” and “Groove Pool”, he’s earned a sizable following for his signature chill R&B sound and sharp production quality. He’s been featured on BBC, VH1 and countless media publications for his fresh and unique sound.
But as laid-back and breezy as his music may sound, Tushar Mathur’s work ethic is quite the opposite. In launching his music career, he’s learned to don many hats: songwriter, producer, video editor and social media manager, to name a few. Fittingly enough, his upcoming track “Stepping About”, talks about our generation’s struggle to strike a balance between hustle culture and self-care. The track features Shayan Roy, a Mumbai-based rapper and producer of Buzzfeed fame and releases on May 1st.
We sat down with Tushar Mathur last week for a detailed chat about his music, his influences and what it means to be a musician in the social media age.
Tell us about yourself!
Let’s start with the name. My name is Tushar Mathur and I’m originally from Coimbatore. I’m a chemical engineer. I finished my degree and didn’t want to pursue engineering at all. I moved to Bangalore around three years ago to do music full time.
I have a band that mainly plays blues-rock, and now I’m working on launching my solo career. The song I’m coming out with, “Stepping About”, is my third single; “Mend” and “Groove Pool” were my first two tracks and they released last year.
We really enjoyed your first two tracks! What made you interested in music? What would you say is the starting point for you?
The starting point for me, I’d say, is my family. I have a very musical family. My parents and grandparents sing Hindustani classical music. But the moment I really got interested in English music was when my brother went to Jaipur for his summer vacation and he came back with a CD. That CD had 12 tracks – mostly hits by Guns and Roses and Deep Purple. We’d sit down and listen to that CD on repeat, the entire day. That sparked an interest in me and I took it forward from there.
My dad also used to play a lot of John Denver and country music around the house. I grew up listening to a lot of guitar-centric music. My brother would also introduce me to a lot of metal and rock. My music has been centred around the guitar ever since.
So would you say these are your primary influences? Or has this evolved as you’ve evolved as an artist? What would you say your main influences are now?
Right now, I’m hugely inspired by Tom Misch. He’s a guitarist and producer from London. My music has been hugely inspired by him- the style that I have now is mainly because of how much Tom Misch I listen to. Another recent influence of mine has been FKJ. When I start touring and playing live, my idea is to incorporate a lot of loop work onstage. FKJ has sort of been a pioneer in that field.
Your first two tracks feel so effortless and breezy! How was the process of writing, producing and releasing these songs?
My first track“Groove Pool” is about an introvert at a party who wants to let loose. I’m not exactly why I wrote about it.. I’m not usually an introvert, but maybe I felt that way and just wanted to write about it. (Laughs)
My writing always starts off with simple guitar work. I usually start with a basic chord structure and build on top of that. The vocals, for me, usually come at the end. I tend to work on all the instruments and then sit down at the end of the day with the finished instrumentals, and write the lyrics and put in a nice vocal melody. That’s my process.
“Mend” was pretty similar. Groove Pool was released in July 2019 and Mend was out by November 2019. “Mend” was special because I worked quite hard on the music video for it. I had dancers, directors and photographers coming in so that took quite some time, but I’m happy with the result.
And how has the reception been for these tracks?
It’s been great! The songs have been on BBC Radio, both my videos were featured on VH1, and I’ve been featured on radio stations across the world. The response has been phenomenal, and people have been so supportive!
As a musician who’s transitioned between cities, how would you say the Bangalore scene compares to the Coimbatore scene?
The scene in Coimbatore is basically non-existent, which is why I moved to a city like Bangalore. Even before, we’d always travel to Bangalore for shows and competitions with my band. Bangalore has always been a great place for music; there are always people who play and appreciate different styles of music, especially when it comes to English music. Coimbatore’s scene is slowly developing as well, but the live music culture is yet to pick up. I’d say Bangalore is a hundred times better, in that aspect.
It must be an interesting experience to have to release music during this pandemic. Has it been a challenge to work on and promote your new track in these times?
I’ve actually been working on this third song for the last six months. It’s been a very long process. I’m usually very picky about my music, and with “Stepping About”, I was even more particular. It’s about our generation’s battle between hustle culture and self-care. Productivity has become a measure of self-worth, and it took me a while to gather my thoughts and pen them down, given how much this affects our generation.
The pandemic hasn’t really affected my release schedule- I’d say I’ve been going about my work as usual. Whenever I release music, I give myself an entire month to promote. I’ve been doing what I’ve done for every song. But I think during this pandemic, a lot of people are sitting at home and consuming more content than they usually would. I don’t think it’ll negatively affect the reception of the song per se; but my touring and live sets have definitely been impacted.
Even though it wasn’t written recently, the song’s subject matter seems more fitting than ever.
Somehow it’s become very relevant. Even in this situation, everyone’s constantly doing something, or learning something new. People of our generation constantly make themselves feel bad about not being productive enough, and that’s something I had felt six months ago when I came up with this song as a concept. It’s suddenly become way more relevant to the situation that’s going on right now.
Your track also features Shayan Roy, who’s popular for his viral Buzzfeed videos and his burgeoning rap career. How did this collab happen, and how was it working with Shayan?
I was looking for a rapper for my track. I got in touch with a lot of people but it wasn’t working out. Somehow I came across Shayan and I just sent him an email. That’s all I did. I attached my track and told him “Your part would be between these timestamps”, and asked if he’d be interested in laying something down for me. He actually got back to me instantly saying he loved the track and he would give it a shot.
It was that easy! A lot of people have asked me this: “How did you end up working with Shayan? How did this happen?” I’ve actually never met him- this has entirely been through email, Instagram and WhatAapp. And this all happened because of a single email. People don’t realize how important an email can be. That’s how I’ve got VH1, BBC and interviews like this.
You seem like quite the hustler!
(Laughs) Technically yes. It sounds a bit ironic that I’m writing a song about self-care. You’re right, I do hustle, and I do a lot of things. But there are times when I feel that I do need to chill out and take it easy. This song is to remind me to take a break. One of the lines actually is “At times I need to chill out” – that’s me telling myself I need to chill. So it’s very relatable to me and kind of a message to myself.
I’m always telling people to take it easy, but my friends tell me that I don’t follow my own advice and that I’m constantly doing something or the other. So I think that this song would be good for me as well, as a reminder that sometimes, I should take it easy.
Do you find it challenging to be a musician at this time? Between the music, the promotions and the social media, it feels like you’re doing the work of a three or four-member team!
That’s true, but the thing is: I love doing this! The music part is amazing, of course, but I believe that if you’re a musician, you need to see that music is a business. I think a lot of newer musicians think they’re above everybody, and think “I’m not going to learn how to promote myself, who wants to do that?” or “I’m just going to send this song out to a couple of my friends and it’ll blow up on its own.”
But I feel that with the music industry nowadays, the actual music makes up 30-40% of your success- the remaining 70% is just marketing and promotion. You might write the best song in the world, but if nobody’s going to hear it then what’s the point?
You’re right, it definitely is a three-person job, but I enjoy it, and I find the producing, marketing and promotion aspect of it extremely interesting.
Do you produce all your own tracks? How did you get into that?
Yeah, I’ve produced all my own tracks. I’m such a fidgety person, the type that loves to mess around with controls and buttons for hours, and that’s how I got into producing. I have a friend called Sandeep who’d take my calls and kind of guide me through some of the questions I had, but apart from that there’s always YouTube and Google. You can literally learn anything on the internet! This was essentially a product of me having a lot of time on my hands and being able to sit down and figure out how to achieve different sounds.
There was another advantage of getting into producing. I was already a musician at that point. Earlier, when we’d jam, I’d know what I want from the sound. Now it’s become easier to achieve that sound on my own and manage the different aspects of the final product. It’s given me more control over my music, in a way.
So you’re a self-taught musician as well as a producer!
I actually did go to guitar classes for a year, but I didn’t like it back then. It was mainly Carnatic stuff, and all I wanted to do was play Zeppelin. So yeah, I’d say I’m self-taught.
I’ve also taught myself video editing- all the videos you see are edited by me. I also take up a couple of freelance projects on the side, to support myself financially.
Wow, so it’s more like you’re doing the work of a six-member team!
Yeah I do quite a lot, you’re right. But I really enjoy the whole process.
RAPID FIRE: Top Five Desert Island Album/Songs:
1. Beat Tape 1 by Tom Misch
2. Geography by Tom Misch
3. Dark Side of The Moon by Pink Floyd
4. Led Zepellin 1 by Led Zepellin
5. My own music!
What are you currently listening to?
I really make use of Spotify’s daily mix feature- lots of times I’m not really sure who the artists even are!
I’ve been very excited about FKJ’s new album, Tom Misch’s stuff and this artist called Raveena.
Describe your sound in two words.
Let’s make it three: Smooth. Like. Butter. (Laughs)
What’s been your favourite gig? And why?
My favourite gig is actually my very first one. I had a gig back in Coimbatore, in this Punjabi Association that we were a part of and my dad had pushed us to go play a show there. A lot of my friends and family were at the show, and they still fondly recall the gig to this day. That was the first-ever time I got up on stage to perform and it felt magical- it’s my most cherished performance that I’ve given.
Dream collab?
Tom Misch, if I could, but I wouldn’t be able to function if that happened. If not him, then I’d really like to collaborate with a Hindi rapper – maybe Divine (I love his style) or Raja Kumari.
Is there anyone you’d like to shout out for helping you along the way?
I’d like to shout out my friend Pavithra. She’s been with me the entire way, and she’s supported me throughout!
You can visit Tushar’s website here for more information. His music is available wherever you regularly stream music. Listen to “Stepping About” now!
Tejas has had quite a journey to get where he is now. He grew up in Dubai and moved to India after high school. Not quite fitting in with the academic environment of college, Tejas found his first calling as a Pune-based RJ, through which he got his first taste of the Indian indie music world. He then went on to release a debut EP, Small Victories, in 2014, and followed it up last year with an LP, Make It Happen – which was notable for an interesting set of reasons. First, it featured the same brand of lively, unpretentious music that put his EP on the map. Second, it came with a great design aesthetic – unique yet perfectly in sync with the music. Third, and most interestingly, it was crowdsourced online and received its funding in a matter of hours.
However, Tejas is more than just his music. He founded and manages Kadak Apple Records, an indie music label from Bombay whose roster features a number of rising stars. Another Tejas Menon venture – this one outside music altogether – is Geek Fruit HQ, a platform to discuss and enjoy all things nerdy.
Read on for our long-form interview with Tejas to find out more about his musical style, crowdfunding his first LP, how he came about founding his other ventures, and much more.
Hi Tejas, how are you?
I’m great, thanks. And thank you for doing this!
No problem! We’ve wanted to speak to you for a while now. So let’s jump right in and start from the beginning. What got you into music, when did you get into music, and what were you listening to when you were growing up?
Well, to start with, I was born in India, but we moved to Dubai when I was around 3 months old. I spent the first 18 years of my life there. I had some few Indian influences growing up – stuff from my parents, like cricket and Bollywood, and from going to an Indian school as well. But most of the time, my time was spent watching movies, reading comic books, consuming a weird amalgamation of Bollywood, Eastern influences, and Western influences.
As soon as I was old enough to discern an affinity to music,
I started discovering pop music – Michael Jackson’s Dangerous, and so on. I also happened to be a good Elvis
impersonator (even now, Elvis is like God to me). My friends were listening to
popular music like Bon Jovi and Linkin Park, and I started listening to a few
other artists on my own, like Madonna. I was a Backstreet Boys fan – still am,
unironically.
Yeah, it’s a very 90s kid thing to be.
Yeah, I was born in ’89 so I’m a through-and-through 90s kid. And then I was a singer in my high school band, drummed for a bit. The first instrument I ever learnt was actually the keys, after my mom bought me a keyboard. But not really a serious approach to music. I finally wrote my first proper song when I was around 18. I got a little more into songwriting after leaving high school and the pressures of the Indian education system behind – I was terrible at academics.
The other thing is, I had a tumultuous childhood – my parents
are separated and it was a tough time growing up. It was difficult for me to
focus on what I wanted to do in life. The kids in my school went on to study
amazing things abroad, but I really didn’t feel that that was for me.
Long story short, I ended up in Pune after high school, living
with my cousins. They sort of raised me a second time for the four or five
years that I stayed with them. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but they made
sure I got a degree at least. So, I went to Wadia College, got a degree in
Economics.
But in that time, I did something really important in my
life. I went for what seemed to be a casual internship at Radio One. I was
there for about three years; learnt a lot from the artists that came in,
polishing my communication skills, and so on. I’ve found a lot more stability
in a work environment than a schooling environment, to be honest. I loved
school as a kid because it was a respite from home, but school ultimately
wasn’t for me.
So there I was at 19, an RJ with my own show, and I really felt like the Mayor of Pune (laughs). All this time, I was writing music at home, sharing it with mostly my friends, but it was really for me and me alone. I didn’t see any point of performing live. But that was because I really didn’t know the options out there for indie artists like me.
I eventually found some artists online, musicians like Gowri Jayakumar, and I was amazed that people were putting up their independent music. I was like, “Why am I not doing that, too?” So I started putting up music online, and went for a few shows.
And then – I don’t know if this was just timing or
serendipity – the first NH7 Weekender happened and they chose Pune for the
venue. I just happened to be the RJ at the radio station promoting the
festival. The first thought when I went to check it out was, “Oh my God. I can totally
do this. I can have a band.” My second thought was, “This is an amazing
feeling, to perform in front of people who wanted to listen to music.” Taking
that cue, I started playing more shows around Pune. This was around 2010 or
2011 – I’m actually coming up on my 10th year of playing music now!
So you’re a veteran of the Indian indie music scene, then. (laughs) Who do you play with when you’re on stage or recording the album?
Well, I’ve gone through a number of lineups. Some of my greatest friends have come from music. Warren from Blackstratblues used to play with us; in fact he produced the first album. Aalok from Something Relevant used to play with me back in the day, too. The core lineup of the band right now is [bassist] Adil Karwa and [drummer] Jehangir Jehangir (JJ). Adil plays with a number of bands here including The Colour Compound and the Koniac Net (who just put out an amazing album, by the way), and JJ is also a studio owner now – he owns Island City Studios, which is right now the place to record in Bombay. In fact, the album that we’re working on right now is the three of us working together. I’ve written the songs but we’re basically co-producing it.
And you recorded together as well for this album?
Yeah, all three of us played and produced it together. They’re like my brothers, basically.
Nice. Yeah, we actually interviewed David from the Koniac Net a while ago, so we’re glad to see that they’re finally getting the support and appreciation they deserve.
Man, that’s so true. Nail on head, really. I’ve been a Koniac fan for a while. It’s like the old-school 90s alternative stuff that I really love. And David is an awesome guy, really puts hard work into the Koniac Net. He’s like a true hustler of yore, you know? (laughs)
Yeah, we’ve been fans for a while too, so we’re really glad to see that they finally broke through with the latest record [They Finally Heard Us].
It’s arguably one of my favorite albums of this year so far, you know? And they’re just a guitar-heavy alternative band, but this one is a deeply immersive and emotional album. Something intimate about it.
Yeah. So we know this is somewhat of a cliched question to ask, but as the songwriter of the act, what comes first for you, the music or the words?
So I listened to this Song Explorer podcast with Wilco a while ago, and the front man was like, “I just sing, and words just come out of my mouth. I trust my own instincts and my body enough, that whatever is coming out of me is what’s relevant to what I want to sing out.” Since then, I kind of work along this philosophy. The essence of the themes come out very naturally. The song I did this most for was “Falling Out” from my last record [2018’s Make It Happen]. The melody and the words came out at the same time while I was playing the guitar. Usually the guitar parts come together first.
I used to try and be clever about writing lyrics. I wanted
to make funny and interesting rhymes, metaphors here and there, and I thought
this was songwriting is: to be cheeky and clever. As I got older, I found it a
little disingenuous to simply try to make a rhyme or to make something fit.
From my first album [2014’s Small Victories
EP] to the second, there’s a big shift in the lyrics, if you notice. It’s a lot
more abstract, a little less narrative, a lot more organic and real. I prefer
this a lot more to what I used to write like. I try to keep it as fluid and as
true as I can.
What was going through your head when you put together the songs on Make It Happen?
Well, my first record was as indie as it gets – arranged in three days, recorded in three days, mixed in four days, and then it was out. There was no room for experimentation, but that was how Warren and I intended for it to be. For Make It Happen, I really wanted a great, sprawling record with big sounds and big ideas. I wanted to be indulgent and create something that I was really proud of.
Two threads across the album are my vocals and the theme (centered
on my late 20s). I took every song individually rather than as an entire album
together. People may complain that some songs stick out or don’t fit in, but I
felt that this was a representation of my entire life. Nobody is just one thing,
and I hate being slotted into “Oh, this is a pop record, oh, this is that sort
of vibe”, so I liked the idea that it’s really dynamic. I wanted people to feel
positive, but also feel the depth and range of things I had to offer.
Everything was so important to me, from the design to the track listing, and
I’m really proud of what we put out.
But that being said, I’m proud of my first album, too.
That’s who I was then. Maybe it’s not true right now, but that’s exactly what I
wanted at that point. It’s a snapshot of who I was then.
We’re glad you brought up the design on your album. We really loved the color palette and the visuals on Make It Happen with the little Adventure Time type of cartoons, and so on. How did you come up with the aesthetic? Did you design it yourself?
Tejas: Well, I am a very poor designer, so it wasn’t me (laughs). After my first album, I felt that the design didn’t say that much about me visually. So I went and spoke to Neysa Mendes (@goodslice), who’s been really instrumental in a bunch of albums from the indie scene. She said, “Tejas, you have to close your eyes, and think about what you want people to visualize when they say your name.” After that, I spent a good amount of time thinking about the visuals and imagery that I wanted to project.
I then took the aid of Studio Kohl, and an amazing designer and conceptual artist called Mira Malhotra. I told Mira and the team that I wanted it to be representative of who I am – I love animation, cartoons, bright colors. I literally still watch cartoons and I’m turning 30 this year (laughs). And I love Adventure Time, as you pointed out, with its mythology and bizarreness. I wanted to create this universe of my own, with every track having its own single art, and all those pieces put together form the back art of the album.
We wanted to talk to you about another interesting aspect of the album, which is that you crowdfunded it online, and you raised the money you needed in a matter of hours! Talk us through how that happened, and why you chose that route.
Yeah, it was amazing. I had no idea it was going to happen in literally six hours! My friends put in good amounts, but there were so many folks I didn’t expect. I got Rs. 50,000 from a high school that I hadn’t spoken to in literally ten years. It was an incredible and humbling experience, to be honest.
As for the why. Sometimes, I feel that the independent music
scene in India is a rich person’s sport, you know? You need a benefactor’s help,
whether it’s your folks or your own savings, and so on. I’m on my own, with
some help from friends, so it’s an expensive affair. This helped a lot.
Also, the theme of Make
It Happen is basically about taking the right decisions to improve your
life. I have been a product of everybody’s goodwill – so thematically,
contextually, it made sense to fund the album this way. It got everyone
involved, and excited to hear more from me. Turned out great!
The other aspect of this was, I knew I had to work on the
marketing and promotion of the album anyway. The music industry right now is
set up in such a way that there’s not much money coming in from sales or from
streaming. Really, the money is coming from performances – everything you do as
a musician is only to promote your gig. Even your album! Think about it that
way, and you realize you have to spend a lot of marketing money. I’m from an
advertising background, so I get this. It’s not enough to be a talented
musician anymore. So this was a unique way to promote the album, too.
Yeah, for sure. Switching gears a bit, we wanted to ask you about your record label, Kadak Apple Records. We ourselves are named after a record label, so this is a particularly interesting aspect for us!
Well, I was releasing my album independently, and I wanted it come from someplace legitimate. In any creative industry, people take you more seriously when you’re coming from a legitimate source. I started Kadak Apple with my good friend and part-time manager, Krish Makhija. We wanted songwriters to be taken more seriously. There’s nothing wrong with playing three-hour brunches, but we felt songwriters in this town had more to offer.
Sometimes [before starting the label], I would get calls saying, “Hey, we want you to play at so-and-so but we can’t afford to pay you that much” – but I felt I deserved it. After I set up the label, I’d ask them, “Why don’t you get in touch with my record label”, and they’d send an email – and I’d respond to the email myself (laughs) but I’d get the gig or the deal this time.
You were just playing the game, basically.
100%. It’s a perception thing; it’s advertising. Right now, Kadak Apple has about nine songwriters on the roster, and I legitimately think that these are some of the best songwriters in the country. But beyond talent, they are mostly there because they are my friends, you know?
Kadak Apple is more of a collective than a label, really. I
facilitate opportunities, coordinate artist availabilities with gig requests,
coordinate media requests, provide industry contacts – whatever I can offer
from my knowledge. I don’t believe in a trade-secret kind of environment. The
Indian indie music industry is so small that it’s in my interest right now for
everyone to have a No. 1 record. I want to give people a choice of different
genres and artists to hear. We need more people to be part of the scene. Eventually,
we’ll get to a more commercialized industry. So that was the intention behind
Kadak Apple.
As for the name – Krish believes in the whole kadak
philosophy. He’s a cinematographer, so he believes the kadak kind of shots.
Kadak chai, and so on. And Apple because of Apple Records and the Beatles.
Cool, that’s a fun back story! So switching gears one more time to yet another thing you’re part of – Geek Fruit. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
Geek Fruit is something I started after I quit my job in 2015. I was working crazy hours in advertising, with three hours of travel every day and so on. After I quit, I had a lot of free time. I tried to focus on what could keep me occupied in the time that I didn’t want to do music. And I say that because I don’t really consider myself to be a musician’s musician. I think I’m good at it, and that the craft of songwriting has come to me, but I don’t feel very “artist-y” about the way I approach music. Sometimes, when I hang out with musicians, I still feel that imposter syndrome really hard.
But when it comes to movies, and watching them and talking
about them – that’s something I’ve been involved with far longer than I have
been with music. I’ve had opinions about movies forever, I love Marvel Comics,
DC, Star Wars, so on. And I really feel that the nerds won, you know? When I
was a kid and trying to talk about kyber crystals in a Jedi’s lightsaber, no
one cared. But now, everyone cares! The biggest TV show, the biggest movies –
they’re all from nerd culture now.
I wanted to start something where we can review stuff, do
podcasts, make content – this is something I genuinely love. I can say I love
it even more than I love music, in some ways. The ability to create is amazing,
but the ability to consume, and discuss, is fantastic. So I created Geek Fruit
with two friends from Kadak Apple – Jishnu Guha and Dinkar Dwivedi. We’ve been
doing podcasts for three years now, with 250+ episodes out – two episodes per
week, every week. I’m happy to say we have a humble but dedicated following
that come for our events and parties now.
Last year, for Halloween, we had a party called Super
Scary Awesome. We did a Disney tribute at the end with our entire band and
lots of Kadak Apple people. Everyone dressed up as weird characters. It was one
of my proudest moments because it was just so unique.
This has been amazing; thank you, Tejas. We wanted to wrap up with a few Rapid Fire questions, if you’re up for it?
Sure, go for it!
Since you mentioned Marvel, and that’s so big in pop culture right now – who’s your favorite Marvel character (from the comics or the movies) and what’s your favorite movie from the MCU?
I was a big Spiderman fan as a kid; Peter Parker and I go way back. So that’s my favorite. I also love some of the fringe characters: Iron Fist, Daredevil, Moon Girl, so on. Out of all the movies, it’s hard for me to not say [Avengers:] Endgame because they stuck the landing to a very difficult project. I also love [Captain America:] Civil War and [Captain America:] TheWinter Soldier.
The other big pop culture phenomenon right now is Game of Thrones – what did you think of the finale?
I have complicated thoughts on it. I’m not going around petitioning that they should remake the show (laughs), but it’s hard to not point out the glaring issues. So yeah, I was disappointed.
People our age are a lot more clued because of things like
Reddit. They know why they like or dislike something. This entire season was a
disappointment and there were huge pacing issues. There was also the overall
question of why they shortened it to six episodes, too. The moment the Night
King died, I kind of checked out. You shouldn’t be able to kill him in a
physical combat. Why is Jon alive? What was the point of Bran’s whole story? We
haven’t gotten the answers to all of these questions.
And if you had to pick a TV show where you loved it from start to finish, what would it be?
I don’t think there is a perfect show, but I think Adventure Time comes pretty close. Apart from that, I love Gilmore Girls, House, Breaking Bad (obviously). 30 Rock is up there, too.
What’s your favorite gig so far?
We played one gig recently in Humming Tree that was really great. We took some risk by taking 100% of the gate, so we had to make the sales on whoever’s actually showed up. We wanted to try out the format. About 120 people or so showed up, and we sold a lot of merch, had posters made, and so on. It was great.
I also really enjoy going to places that don’t get a lot of
live music. I went on a tour last year to the North East with Mali, and those
were some of the best gigs I’ve done. Playing to different audiences that we’ve
never played to before, and having our songs sung back at us – it was amazing.
Who’s one Indian artist that you’d love to collaborate with at some point?
I think Meba Ofilia is amazing. Young, new, R&B / soul kind of singer-songwriter. Chayan [Adhikari] from Advaita. Aditya Ashok from Ox7gen would be next on my list, too.
All images courtesy the artist. Check out Tejas’ website here for more information about him and where to listen to his music.
In our honest opinion, twenty-something Dhruv Visvanath is already one of the most iconic musicians in India today. With his unique percussive guitar style, clear design aesthetic, and an irrepressibly nomadic take on life, it’s pretty easy to pick a Dhruv Visvanath song out of a musical lineup.
In 2015, Visvanath released a well-received debut album, Orion; but like all great musicians, he didn’t let the success define his career. In 2016, he embarked upon a massive 17-city tour across India – no doubt driven by his keen (and well-documented) sense of wanderlust. The tour resulted in 2018’s The Lost Cause – a brilliant album with lilting melodies, beautiful imagery and Visvanath’s masterful guitar skills.
Top Five Records caught up with Dhruv for a detailed chat about his influences, love of travel, musical style, and much more. Read on below:
Let’s start with a picture of what makes you into the artist you are today: What got you into music, and when did you first start getting into it?
I’ve been playing and learning since I was seven, and it’s been a long and arduous journey at times; but I’m ever so grateful for music. I started off with the piano, and from there my thirst for musical knowledge just grew further and further, up to a point where I just picked up a guitar and started learning through trial and error. To this day, I still feel like that’s the right way for me! Trial and error above everything else!
We at TFR see glimpses of Sufjan Stevens, the Decembrists, and hints of Mumford & Sons in your tunes. What would you say are the biggest musical influences in your music? Apart from other musicians, what else has influenced you as an artist?
First off, thank you! You guys make me blush! I have always looked to using stories from my life as my biggest source of inspiration for writing songs. My family, my dearest friends, my heartaches and moments of happiness have allowed me to express my thoughts and feelings through music; I just try to do my part by being honest and true to myself.
Musical inspirations are an entirely different story. Would you believe me if I told you I was listening to Dr. Dre a few nights ago? All jokes aside, I do listen to and absorb what I can from as many different artists, because you can learn many things just by listening to different songs. Currently I’m hooked on to Daniel Caesar, Parcels and Jungle, but I’ve always loved bands like Alter Bridge, Foals and Snarky Puppy. I really like the way they arrange their songs, and how they build their music and it’s such a useful lesson when making music!
Your music stands out among Indian singer-songwriters for your unique style of percussive acoustic guitar. How did you get interested in this style of playing? How did you train yourself in it, from a technical standpoint?
I do feel like I am unique for sure, but I’m thrilled to see more and more people just stepping in to their comfort zone when it comes to making music! It’s a pleasure to explore and I want to take the time to learn from everyone doing things differently. I like to think of myself as a songwriter more than just a guitarist but I absolutely love playing. A lot of my songs feel like they start from the guitar, and grow into bigger stories with more layers, and to be honest, I only want to write good songs, and my technique has helped me do that.
I’m a self-taught guitarist, and have maintained that throughout my musical journey. It allows me to continue making mistakes and learning in new ways! Honestly though, I used to play the electric guitar and I could feel myself stagnating, and there was a point where worries arose and I started falling out of love with the guitar. It wasn’t until I found a few videos on YouTube with guys smacking the bodies of their acoustics – and epiphany struck! I would literally sit and learn these percussively flavoured songs and would spend hours imitating these amazing guitarists, from Andy Mckee, to Don Ross, to Antoine Dufour. These folks were genuinely great teachers and it really allowed me to find my own style along the way.
Music video for “Jungle”, from The Lost Cause (2018)
Let’s talk about the songwriting process. The rhythm and melodies in your songs are so intricate, and yet your words always seem to lock right into place. What comes first for you, the music or the lyrics?
I love a sense of rhythm in everything. Having words that complement the rhythm just make the song that much more enjoyable, both to write and to listen to. Oftentimes, the music does come first, but it depends. Most of my ideas stem from an idea that’s ten seconds long. My sense of rhythm comes from how I play, and I use my strengths to work my on weaknesses when it comes to writing layers or working on my voice.
It really helps to write in a manner which brings out the best in you, rather than trying to force a song out. You want to feel like playing and listening to music that makes you want to be a better person, and a more expressive person. It’s a strange way of looking at it, but writing a new song gives me so much happiness, and it feels like constipation if I don’t write!
One of our favorite aspects about Dhruv as a musician (apart from the music itself, of course) is your keen sense of design, from the common font across your output, to the connected color palette, to the incredibly unique choice of, for example, using mops to tell a story. What inspires your design aesthetic?
The mops weren’t my idea! That goes to the director of my video for “Wild,” Tanvi Gandhi. But I have to say I have always looked at myself as someone who’s had to build himself from the ground up. I like to create as much of an identity as I possibly can, but that’s important for anyone who wants to be an artist. I pick vivid colours because I see vivid colours emanating from my music, and I want to show a sense of wonder and wistfulness. I feel like a person who plays the acoustic guitar to it’s absolute limits, so for me, bright colours and extreme contrasts seem like a fitting portrayal of who I am musically.
In any song, the most important thing is the story, and I’m a very story-driven person. The use of abstraction comes naturally to me and I love it when the songs bring things to life. A sense of abstraction is key, and it’s not often that someone feels like a mop until they see a mop act and live just like you!
Let’s talk about that music video for “Wild”, because it really is unlike anything else out there in Indian indie music today. How did you come up with the concept for that music video? How did you plan out the production work that went into actually putting it together? And how long did it take you to film it?
Again, I can take credit for the song! The video, however, was an entirely different task. My director, Tanvi Gandhi, bombarded me with ideas for six months until we hit on this one kooky idea of expressing human angst through mops – and the vision stuck. Production started in January 2018 and the rest of the creative team behind the video spent a month going on reconnaissance trips and making prototypes of the mops. It wasn’t until the first week of April 2018 where I got a finished product. I’m very glad we took the time to make the video, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. It’s travelled to places I haven’t even been and I’m so glad it’s been played at many festivals. (Ed. Note: Dhruv is too humble to mention it, but “Wild” was shown at the prestigious SXSW festival this year.) It was a product of love and for it to be loved and appreciated in the way that it has is very special to me.
Tell us a little bit about your recent album, The Lost Cause, and how you put together all the pieces there. We know you went on an eponymous India-wide tour before the album actually came out – to what extent, and how, did that tour influence the music on the album?
Well, if I’m honest, I recorded most of the music before actually going on tour! The whole purpose of the tour was to go through India and explore the various stories that my family had experienced throughout the country. It definitely did affect the finished product, however, and I’m grateful to have gone on that journey. It really allowed me to attach stories to my songs, and some of the songs I’d written prior to going on the tour didn’t make much sense until I’d experienced these stories. The album felt effortless to work on. I’d sit and work with just writing songs in my bedroom and then recording them late at night. I took the project on as a chance to improve my ability to record my music, and I’m glad I did it.
The backbone of your album, The Lost Cause, centers around exploration – from new cities to aspects of you as a person and as a musician. Has this streak of discovery always been part of who you are?
I’ve been a traveler all my life. I’ve grown up in different places, and it’s always been an absolute blessing to go out an explore. The song itself was more about a need to identify your dreams, and to follow them wholeheartedly. Placing the right amount of faith in yourself will push you further than anything else will. I wrote this song for all the times I’ve been told that what I do is just that, a lost cause. I thought to make it an epic of sorts, as large as I possibly could, so it’d feel like something you’d shout at the top of a mountain!
What’s next on the radar for you – New music? New tours? Something else entirely?
Well, I’m in the middle of recording some newer songs, but also I’ve taken the last year or so to write the best music I can, and just create. I’ve been fortunate to work on a few film scores as well and it’s something I’m extremely keen on continuing. Finally, this last year has taught me what it means to be a good producer as well, and I want to take this chance to really improve and work with more people and make more songs with more people if I can!
Thank you, Dhruv, that was excellent! Before we wrap up, we’d like to ask you some quick-fire questions. Ready?
What are your top three Desert Island Discs? (i.e., three albums that you would be fine listening to, without access to any other music, for the rest of your life?)
One Day Remains by Alter Bridge; Phil Collins’ Greatest Hits; Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace by Foo Fighters.
What’s been your favorite gig so far?
So far, it has to be a gig I did at NIFT Delhi in October last year. I had my best friends with me on stage, and playing a fun, exciting night to a nice big amphitheater.
Who’s one Indian artist that you’d love to work with?
Warren Mendonsa, Dhruv Ghanekar, Parekh & Singh… the list is very, very long.
Given your love of exploration, we assume you’ve travelled a lot around the world. What’s one city that you find yourself wishing you could visit again?
Two cities, Montreal and Hong Kong. I grew up in Hong Kong and that place will always be special to me; and Montreal because it’s just one of the most musically charged and creative places I’ve ever been to.
What albums or songs are on constant rotation right now?
I love listening to any song made by SG Lewis, an amazing producer. As for albums, I’ve been listening to Let it Die by Feist, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish and Assume Form by James Blake.
You can visit Dhruv’s website for information on where to listen to his music. All images courtesy the artist.
Those who have been paying close attention to Mumbai’s indie scene cannot deny the welcome shift in the quality of production in recent years. The scene has been graced by a wave of savvy producer-slash-engineers who have really helped propel the quality of music and cultivate a songwriting mindset among younger artists. Rishi Bradoo, former frontman of Mumbai electro-punk trio Blek and Chief Tinkerer at Theatre 74 studios, is one such torchbearer, with his stamp on some of the city’s finest recent releases including Awkward Bong’s In the Brightest Corners and a string of tracks by Ramya Pothuri. There’s no denying Rishi’s prowess as a studio engineer but that’s just one of the many spices that comprise his secret sauce. We recently caught up with Rishi at his studio in Mumbai to discuss his journey in the music scene and the methods to his magic.
So let’s get this out of the way… How did you get into music?
Right. So I got into music in school. I’d started playing the guitar for some reason and it stuck. That was the time when Superfuzz and the like had just started putting out music. Plus, it generally seemed fun to put chords together. It felt like LEGO. The minute I learned to put these chords together, I quit my guitar classes.
As a teenager, I was particularly frustrated with the way Indian musicians looked at music, which was with this cover-band mindset. Bands around me didn’t seem to care about putting out something truly original and that sort of irked me. That’s how I got to writing my own music. But it wasn’t until college did I get exposed to working with professional musicians. Xavier’s [St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai] surprisingly turned out to be fertile ground for budding musicians at the time. A lot of guys I met at college are working professionally in music right now. My college scene was basically defined by tons of college fests and a failed band.
What failed band?
Let’s not talk about it.But yeah the first gig I ever played with a “legit” band was at this shitty excuse for a venue called Jazz by the Bay. We were teenagers at the time, and didn’t realize [what we were getting into]. Our first set had 10 “originals” and something like one or two covers. None of the other kid bands were doing that and it seemed pretty radical at the time. After our run of 5 shows at JBTB, we were bitch-slapped into ground reality though. It wasn’t until later that I met Jared and Varoon, our drummer and we would go on to form Blek. For a year we made the rounds of the college circuit and were starting to gain some momentum. We’d get our next gig at the last gig we played. We’d play a gig, talk to somebody after the gig and hustle another gig and eventually it led us to this place called B69.
It was an underground venue and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t legal. Sweat would literally evaporate, condense on the ceilings and then pour out onto the musicians playing on stage. So yeah, it was a pretty gnarly venue but a lot of young bands got to cut their teeth over there… you know… because you could afford to be bad.
We met the Lightyears over there and we would end up sharing a lot of bills together.
2012 was one of the most influential years for me. That was when I was convinced that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In early 2012, we cut our record, Hexes + Drama & other reasons for evacuation and things blew up. We started getting booked all over the place. Within a year we had toured the entire country, in our third year of college. We were even invited to play in the UK at the Great Escape Festival.
What was that like?
Playing the Great Escape festival changed a lot of things for us. It was pretty eye-opening. The difference between what standards need to be and where they were in the scene at the time really came to the forefront. I realized that why people make music in the independent music scene in India and why people made music there were two completely different things. This thought had been on my nerves much earlier and was only reinforced when I got there. Interacting with musicians from around the globe was a far cry from the experiences I had in India. It was quite bittersweet actually. It felt like we were lagging behind in many ways but it also opened my eyes to what was possible. We had all this talent lying around that could definitely shine through more clearly if we had a certain change in mindset and environment.
What got you into audio? Was it a general sense of disillusionment with the production quality at the time?
It wasn’t about production quality. Production quality was inevitably going to get better and was actually quite amazing even at the time, just not in indie music. All the young bands here over the last seven or eight years haven’t really had any good role models to look up to. I don’t consider Shaiir+ Func and Pentagram to be good role models at all!
The general attitude of bands here is:
I have these chords and I kind of made them go together. I also have some lyrics written over some vocal melody and it sounded fine in the jam room so I guess I have a song.
Just because you jammed it out in a jam-room and it sounded “tight” doesn’t make it a complete song. You really need to sit down and focus on the nuances of songwriting and that only comes with focused effort. What a lot of debut artists need to understand is you’re making music, not releasing YouTube content. The way most indie artists in India treat music is as if they’re releasing content.
You know I’ve noticed, whenever an artist enters the studio with the desire to have fun and make something they care about, the record always sounds good. Whether they’re good musicians or not, the record sounds good. There’s a kind of carelessness or honest expression that’s captured. Whenever an artist comes to the studio with this careerist mindset of wanting to release a record because they have to release a record that year, 7 out of 10 times, the record doesn’t sound as great. You can always hear it in the music, when there’s a sense of insincerity in the studio.
People put too much emphasis on mixing, engineering and the like but the actual emphasis should be on the writing.
So coming back to the question… when you’re not in the record cutting business, you don’t realize the kind of effort that goes in. It all seems like knobs and buttons. There’s a lot of microscopic detail that you’re paying attention to and macroscopic details you’re trying to balance out and that takes years is what I’ve realized over time. You kind of pick it up along the way.
For me, at that time, I felt like I could figure the writing part out. But I wanted to cut my own records. I wanted to have decisive control over it, not having to be reliant on the one person in Bombay I trust with my work.
What was Audio School in Alchemea like? Did you get to work with some big ticket producers?
In London, I studied under the guy who mixed Klaxons and Nick Cave. I also got to spend about a week with Tchad Blake who’s a personal hero of mine. He’s the guy who mixed Arctic Monkeys’ AM. He also worked on the Black Keys’ records. But yeah, that’s about it. I don’t think it really matters as much as you’d think. The thing about learning is, it’s more about who you are as a student and not so much about who is teaching. You can go to the best schools with the best teachers and learn jackshit, which I think is the case with most Indian schools to start with. We’re not curious enough. It kind of struck me. As students in India, we’re very badly raised. We’re raised to be scared of failure. We’re raised to answer questions in the way that is prescribed. That’s such a bad environment to build any sort of creative thought. I’ve been very disillusioned with this “college chaapa” mindset. “Oh, he went to Berklee, he must be good”. That doesn’t fly with me. I need to know what his record sounds like to see if he’s really good.
Was it always the plan to come back home from the UK and set up a studio?
No, actually. Part of me wanted to go learn production so that I could cut my own records, but it was also because I wanted to get the fuck away from Bombay. It had gotten really depressing. Like I said, I was very disillusioned with Bombay and the music scene in general. I was so done with the way musicians were functioning here, the way festival organizers were functioning here and the way artist managers were functioning here. It was a huge fucking mess. I felt that if I had the opportunity to go to the UK and not come back, why would I? But then looking back at India , I couldn’t just ignore the opportunities that were present back home. Had I stayed in the UK, I would have had to start at the very bottom of the ladder. Find a studio I could work in, become an assistant engineer, then maybe get promoted, convince artists to entrust me with their work, and so on. I wasn’t sure if I was happy with having such limited opportunities in the UK. The opportunity in India was to set up your own studio, cut your teeth the hard way by jumping into the deep end, not having someone mentor you and to diversify. I can literally do anything I want with this space.
What were the first few artists you recorded when you came back?
In the Brightest Corners by Awkward Bong was the first record I cut after coming back. I was lucky to have that be my first record, you know, as a rookie. The thing about audio school is you spend one year there, and then come into the real world, and the learning curve only steepens. I was really lucky to have such a project because it was hardcore production. I could dictate a lot. I could dictate the chord movements, I could dictate the rhythm section. I could really say: hey, do this, delete that, cut that verse in half. Like really hands-on production.
For me when a person writes a song, it isn’t the sound of the kick drum or the beat. It’s the chords, the lyrics, the melody and the general rhythmic vibe. Now what makes a SONG for me, in big block letters, which is released to the world and makes people feel things, is a combination of really good songwriting and sensible production that complements the songwriting. With the Awkward Bong record, Ronit had enough trust in me to run riot. Sonically, it’s an amateur record, being my first record out of audio school and everything, but the songs were really great and we worked very hard on fleshing them out.
So one of your songs with BLEK, “Fog + Strobe” got a slight makeover and was rechristened as” Byomkesh in Love”, featured in the movie Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! Were you happy with the way that turned out and the experience in general?
Working with Dibakar was pretty great. He always said: if you don’t want to do something, don’t do it. Initially he wanted me to add on this Hindi thumri to the song and I was extremely hesitant. But after I got to listen to it and know the meaning of what was being sung, I was completely on board. I felt like it fit. He wanted a version of the song for the film that went with the visuals of a particular scene, which I found to be a very challenging project. When this person rolled over the table in the action scene, Dibakar wanted a drum roll or toms to replace your traditional sound effects.
So, we were sitting down with him, looking at the scene and producing accordingly, while keeping in mind that it should sound great even as a standalone song. Once he had his shot for the film, he let me have full control over the version of the song that went out on Apple Music and the like. The version that’s out on YouTube or whatever is the version that we wanted and were happy with. Now that’s a good way to work!
What’s BLEK up to now and more importantly, what’s Rishi the musician upto now?
I’d prefer not to divulge premature details. You’ll know when it’s done I guess.*goes on to divulge juicy secrets off the record*
This started out as chat about your musical journey but you were able to turn it into a lesson in life. It was great talking to you man.
Right so to wrap things up, we have a bunch of rapid fire questions we do with all our guests.
Favourite Indian artist right now?
None. I’m serious. I have much higher standards and expectations of Indian artists and we WILL get there!
Pick one of the two you can’t live without: delay or reverb.
I can’t live without delay. I can make delay sound like reverb but not the other way around.
Drink of choice.
It’s usually vodka but now I’m switching to Stranger & Sons gin.
One gig that’s left a permanent mark on you.
This sounds narcissistic but it’s the gig we played with the Lightyears at one of the earlier Ctrl + Alt + Del festivals, at B69.
Three Desert Island discs for when you’re stranded on an island.
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino by the Arctic Monkeys and let me tell you why. TBH&C is a beautiful record. It has all these tiny, beautiful things that are so “fuck you”.
Sea Change by Beck, without a doubt. He is a rare, beautiful artist. A hero of mine.
A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead. It’s actually quite hard to pick a Radiohead record.
Given the Mediterranean undercurrents to Beirut’s music, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Zach Condon spent his pre-Beirut years backpacking around Europe, soaking in the sights and sounds of Sicily and the Balkans. Five albums, a bunch of EPs and 15 years since, those influences still burn bright in his music. Condon has a penchant for drawing a range of different soundscapes with the same set of ingredients. All of his songs sound somewhat similar on the surface but each one surprisingly tugs at a different chord. On Gallipoli, he and his brass army proudly carry on the tradition with predictable but entertaining results.
The album opens with “When I Die”, a classic track showcasing the familiar trumpet-ukulele-kick drum trifecta that’s been a staple with Beirut’s music. Then comes the title track, “Gallipoli”, the musical embodiment of a cavalry of soldiers bidding their kingdom farewell before heading to the frontlines.
That’s the beauty of Beirut. There’s always a very vivid mental picture that gets tied to each song even when there’s barely any lines sung. “On Mainau Island” is a pretty instrumental track that sees Beirut dabble with electronics, a side of him we would like to see more often. The very hypnotic “Corfu” again offers glimpses of where Beirut’s sound could head next, tastefully combining jazz melodies with an almost-tango beat.
On the whole, the album sounds a bit less rough round the edges than what Beirut fans are used to – but not in a jarring way. Experimentation outside Condon’s forte has been kept to a minimum on Gallipoli. It’s still the organ and the brass instruments that take center stage. While songs like “Corfu”, “On Mainau Island” and “We Never Lived Here” attempt to fuse the past with the future, the extent of experimentation seems frustratingly measured. Gallipoli might have met every old-time fan’s desire, but it is also a sign that Zach Condon is in urgent need of evolution. His sound is at risk of growing stale and we’re hoping we get to see a never-before-seen side of him on future releases.
If you’ve been paying attention to the music coming out of Kolkata for the past few years, you’d have heard of Suyasha Sengupta. She was the lead singer for the Ganesh Talkies – a rare frontwoman / guitarist – and went on to form her own electronic solo act called Plastic Parvati.
Last month, the reputed Toto Awards chose Plastic Parvati as the winner of their Music award for 2019, from among a formidable list of upcoming musicians. Recently, we caught up with Suyasha for a long-ranging interview covering the prestigious award, new music, artistic influences, and so much more. Read on below:
Top Five Records: Hi Suyasha!
Suyasha Sengupta: Hey!
TFR: Thank you so much for doing this! Just to give you a little bit of an introduction – we are Top Five Records, an independent review website that’s been online for about six years now. You may not remember, but we actually featured one of your songs a long time ago.
SS: Oh, yeah, was it before the album or something?
TFR: Yeah, it was literally like in 2013.
SS: Oh yeah, had to be one of the first ones.
TFR: Yeah, we’re really big fans of you and Ganesh Talkies, so we’re really glad that we could take the time to speak. So let’s get started, from the beginning. When did you start to get interested in music?
SS: Well, I come from a very Bengali household, so there was always some kind of music on when I was growing up. The stereotype is, you know, that Bengalis always have Rabindra sangeet on somewhere in the background, and that was quite true. There was a lot of folk music, traditional Bengali music, and there was also a lot of Elvis, the Beatles, Nat King Cole and all of that. Even before I started playing music, I would say that since I grew up with music, it helped the process.
I think I was about 10 or 12
years old when I realized I wanted to start singing and writing music. I
started taking guitar lessons when I was about 14. And then of course, I
discovered Nirvana and Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots – the whole
grunge scene. I think I always knew that I would pursue something in the arts,
but music was always my release, my go-to. It was a very natural process.
TFR: Right. And so, do your parents like the fact that you’re a musician?
SS:(Laughs) Well, I’ve been doing this for a while, so they’ve kind of abandoned the hope of me pursuing something else. It wasn’t very smooth in the beginning, but since I’m an only child, I played that to my advantage. For Indian parents, to let their children go into a creative field, it’s a little bit scary, because the future is always uncertain, and it’s an unstable profession. It doesn’t have the comfort of a steady 9-to-5. My parents were obviously apprehensive.
I started singing professionally
at 18; this was when I was still in school, playing a gig on the weekends,
going back to school the next day – for pocket money. They figured out that I
would pursue something in the arts, but they encouraged me to at least get a
bachelor’s degree. After graduation, they were like, “If you can manage both,
then go ahead”. I actually ended up quitting my Master’s program after a
semester and moving back to Kolkata, and that’s when I had a more serious
conversation with them. Initially, they weren’t happy but I think they’ve
gotten around to it.
TFR: Yeah, especially if you’ve always had music in your home, they would be semi-okay with the idea anyway.
SS: Yeah, and they were happy that I was doing my own thing and taking care of myself. And unlike the sex drugs and rock ‘n’ roll stereotype, she hasn’t turned up in a ditch somewhere yet (laughs).
TFR: Haha, right. So at what point did the whole Ganesh Talkies thing start, and when did you decide that you wanted to start the Plastic Parvati project on your own?
SS: Going back to the band when I was 18, we were primarily a covers band, and we used to play at this place in Kolkata called Someplace Else. The bass player, Roheet, and I eventually wanted to play our own music, from our own set of influences. One of the things we bonded over was ‘90s Bollywood. Not the music necessarily, but like a certain Govinda movie or some dance step. That’s how Ganesh Talkies started, and then the guitarist and drummer joined in. We came from different sets of influences, but the common love for – I wouldn’t say trashy – but the over-the-top Bollywood helped us.
TFR: Yeah, that ostentatious element.
SS: Exactly. Unreal, gaudy. So that’s how we started Ganesh Talkies. We focused on making our own music rather than covers. When I was in the band, I started experimented with production. I was the primary songwriter for the band, and sometimes I’d have a keyboard or drum idea in my head, but I couldn’t always explain it to them. So I was like, okay, if I could map it out on a software, then maybe they can understand.
At the same time, I also realized
that some of the stuff that I was writing was a little bit too intimate for the
band. It was just my stuff and my moods. So Plastic Parvati started off as a
passion project – and a learning project. I would use it to learn how to
produce and how to write music personally.
TFR: For sure. Earlier on, you were mentioning that Nirvana and grunge is a very big influence for you. Does that carry on to Plastic Parvati?
SS: Nirvana for sure, that’s going to have an influence on everything I do. I think grunge in general has had a huge impact too. Apart from Nirvana, I was discovering a lot of female artists – musicians, directors, poets. I stumbled upon Hole, Garbage and Bikini Kill. These women have left a deep influence on me – because of their music, I don’t feel inhibited to say how I feel with Plastic Parvati. I’ve always been attracted to the fringes, the left-of-center artists.
TFR: That actually reminds me of this VH1 show called Left-of-Center.
SS: Exactly! I remember watching Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson videos, and I thought it was so cool. I’m a sucker for commercial pop too, but I really related to that. And that was the only good thing on TV around that time, and I feel privileged because they actually used to play music on TV back then. Now it’s just reality shows.
TFR: Yeah, now it’s just trash.
SS: Yeah. I don’t even own a TV anymore.
TFR: Same here. Going back to your album [Songs About Lovers, 2017], what was going on through your mind when you were putting that together?
SS: So with the album, we – by we, I mean me and my mentor Miti Adhikari [noted Kolkata-based producer] – we were putting together these snippets when the Ganesh Talkies was having an off-season period. I played him a bunch of unfinished scratches, about 20 of them, because I had all of these clips but I didn’t know what to do with it. There were some that we rejected outright and some that we picked out to work on more. That’s when the idea for the album came about. Miti is someone that I feel extremely comfortable with, so it was a very collaborative process. While I was songwriting, he gave me all of these ideas in terms of instrumentation or production. We’d worked together on Ganesh Talkies but that was as a producer; this was a more intimate process. I’d share the ideas and record the vocals at his place.
I didn’t initially plan on releasing it – it was originally for my mental health, that I could finish the project, because I was trying to tell these stories through my songs. The theme in my head was essentially a chronicle of my experiences as a woman in India, and an exploration of my sexuality.
TFR: Right. We’ve heard great things about Miti from Nischay Parekh as well, about how he was instrumental in developing his sound, too.
SS: Yeah, he’s really one of the key figures in the music that comes out of Kolkata. It’s a small city, and we’re all friends with each other.
TFR: Yeah. So I wanted to ask you about your experiences as a female Indian musician. What kind of changes would you like to see as a performer, for indie musicians to really get the recognition they deserve?
SS: It’s still a tiny bubble. For Indian musicians to get the recognition they deserve, we have to break out of the bubble. We all play gigs in the major metros or the tier-2 cities, but it’s not enough. How many people actually hear anything indie? Firstly, we need a scene which is not just, like, 10 people from Bombay; more inclusive of other people, other voices. And we need more female, trans, LGBTQ voices – moving away from the straight, upper-caste Hindu, male thing. We just need more involvement.
In fact, I was recently looking
at some of the American festivals – there’s always one or two women headliners,
but we don’t have that here. Like, last year, there was this festival on
Women’s Day, that had an all-women lineup, but it was organized by men! The
point is not to have an all-women line-up. The point is to normalize the role
of women or other communities amongst what exists now.
TFR: Exactly. They essentially didn’t do much except filter by gender.
SS: Yeah, like there’s a “genre” called “girl-band”. For other bands, there’s genres like rock, hip-hop, whatever, but for these girls, there’s a genre called “girl-band”. That doesn’t make sense! The conditioning needs to change, basically.
And another aspect is that I’m
basically in the black-hole of the country [musically]; we in Kolkata don’t
always get the push we deserve. But I love Kolkata, it’s very comfortable.
TFR: Yeah, this is what we hear from the Chennai bands, too: “No one really cares what we do in Chennai, so we just have a lot of fun by ourselves”.
SS: Exactly. If you look at the music that’s coming out of these two cities, it’s extremely different and diverse. We have to work harder, and we don’t get the kind of recognition in other cities, so we have to focus on our craft more. We have no infrastructure, just us musicians. We have to travel to Bombay or Bangalore just to play a gig.
TFR: Speaking of gigs – what’s on the radar for Plastic Parvati?
SS: The next gig I’m playing is Control Alt Delete. It’s actually my first as Plastic Parvati in Bombay. I’ve consciously stayed away from club gigs because I’ve done that extensively with Ganesh Talkies. I also want to put out some music by the end of the year, because there’s been a change in my musicality. I want to see how that works, in the context of an EP.
TFR: Nice! So do you have anything down already?
SS: I’m still writing, so it’ll take some time. I don’t like giving myself a deadline, because I feel pressured, but I have some scratches down.
TFR: Cool! So the last thing we wanted to ask you is about the Toto Award, which you won recently for Music. That’s a great achievement, congratulations! What does the award mean to you?
SS: Honestly I didn’t expect it at all! Although I’ve been playing music for a while, Plastic Parvati has just been a year of me seriously trying to do something. In terms of independent arts in India, this has been one of the groups that has been supporting artists for a long time. And the previous winners are all artists I deeply admire – it’s great to be one of them now! Toto has always been great at selecting the non-mainstream, slightly underdog artists – there’s some pressure on me now to live up to their support. It’s also encouraging to know that there’s an organization like that that appreciates artists like me. I’m hoping that it’s a message to younger girls, too: there’s people out there who do support you.
TFR: Well, that’s all the longer questions we had. We just want to do a quickfire round now, cool?
SS: Sure, yeah!
TFR: Who would be your favorite Indian artist, apart from yourself and Ganesh Talkies?
SS: Fuck. This is hard. I can’t pick one! I’ll go with Parekh & Singh, and Peter Cat (and LIFAFA and Begum).
TFR: Awesome! I guess our tastes match exactly, because the last two interviews we had were with Parekh & Singh and LIFAFA.
SS: Nice! Yeah, I feel like they’re very representative of Indian indie. They’re not trying to do like weird raga type things with Western instruments, but they are writing their amazing songs, and their sound is incredible.
TFR: It’s very desi.
SS:Desi, but perfectly balanced. Oh, I actually really like Disco Puppet as well. But that’s a personal bias! And… can I name one more? I’ll say Pulpy Shilpy [Gowri Jayakumar’s solo project]. Spoken-word, hip-hop, R&B. And she’s doing everything by herself, so I’m a deep admirer of that aspect.
TFR: Right, ties in with who you are as well. So moving on, which musician, dead or alive, would you most love to work with?
SS: Definitely Sandunes. I love everything that she does, her music, who she is as a person. Her music is very calm, thoughtful. I’m the opposite, like a hurricane – would be very interesting to see what a collaboration would be like.
TFR: Third question. What’s your drink of choice?
SS: Royal Stag, with water.
TFR: Nice. Classic. What’s one track or album on constant rotation lately?
SS: An LP that I found recently – Yellow Magic Orchestra. It’s these three Japanese dudes who made weird stuff in the ‘70s. All analog stuff.
TFR: Very left-of-center, as we were talking about. Final question – what’s been your favorite gig so far as Plastic Parvati?
SS: This is also a little difficult, all gigs are so different. I did this one REProduce session in Varanasi. We were on the roof of a hostel overlooking the Ganges, full-moon night. The crowd was an interesting mix of foreigner tourists and some locals, who were listening to non-Bollywood Indian music for probably the first time in their lives. It was super interesting, and the lineup was great, too. Fun gig.
TFR: Absolutely. So, that’s all from our side. Thank you so much for speaking with us! We’ll keep an eye out for the new EP, and it was a blast speaking with you!
SS: You, too. This was so fun.
You can listen to Plastic Parvati on SoundCloud,Spotify, and iTunes. And keep an eye out for her new music!
Gorgeous artwork by Rudraksh Banerjie and Khyati Trehan
Mosko’s debut EP, Teeth, has been a long time coming. The Delhi dance-rock band’s initial duo of Kavya Trehan and Moses Koul have been touring under the moniker since 2014, and their EP release last month has come after three years of work and a reworked lineup (now featuring drummer Suyash Gabriel and bassist Amar Pandey). After so much energy, and effort, and labour, is the payoff worth it?
Short answer: yes.
Teeth is a solid showcase of the band’s unique energy. It’s a mish-mash of ideas and inspirations, jumping around not just across songs but within songs. The album plays fast and loose with the hyphen between the band’s two genres, shifting between danceable rhythms and headbanging beats. It’s far, far too short a release, but offers so much in that small amount of time.
First up is “Smooth,” which perfectly describes Mosko’s sound. The whole song alternates driven grungy guitar riffs (think Nirvana circa “Lithium”) with a more poppy, whirly 3-3-2 organ rhythm. The song is constantly shifting rhythms and beats, but instead of sounding disconnected it just works, because of the way Gabriel’s incredible drumming and Pandey’s competent bass-work backs up Trehan’s powerful vocals. I can only imagine how much of a crowd-puller this song would be live, just by virtue of how far it carries its energy.
Up next is “Mosey Pants,” one of the two tracks co-written by the band’s earlier bassist Abhinav Chaudhury and drummer Karan Malick. It’s upbeat, with some highly infectious guitar licks and solos, yet with just the right number of breath-catching moments to help you keep up. Perfect crowd-puller.
“Ydek” shifts down a gear or two in tempo and beat, while maintaining the energy levels. It’s a measured gathering-of-the-clouds sort of sound, which never quite breaks the levee but never quite needs to.
The final track, “Drance 109,” starts off sounding vaguely Arctic Monkeys and ends up sounding like organised chaos (in a good way). Trehan’s weaponised voice is the lynchpin that ties the explosion together, with space left over for Koul’s guitar work to fill in the rest with a sound ranging from the sharpest electronica to the muddiest of metal.
Mosko performing “Smooth” on Balcony TV
The one drawback to Teeth as an EP ends up actually being the strength that’s going to ensure Mosko’s continuing success: it’s an album that’s guaranteed to sound better live. Mosko are forging ahead as primarily a duo, but the EP promises a duo that will fill up the stage. Teeth is an absolute tease of a release but in the best possible way, a promise of something more when aided by a bunch of massive speakers and a roaring crowd.T
Sound the alarms: everyone’s favorite dream pop duo is back!
Parekh & Singh, comprising of Nischay Parekh and Jivraj Singh, is a Kolkata-based indie / dream-pop duo. In 2016, they released a well-received debut album, Ocean, followed by a couple of wildly-popular, high-aesthetic music videos. Recently, the band has released two songs ahead of their second album Science City.
As eagle-eyed readers no doubt know, we spoke with Nischay Parekh back in 2013 when his solo career was just getting started. Even all those years ago, Nischay blew us away with his beautiful melodies and intricate pop sensibilities (see: “I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll”). Since that time, he has teamed up with Kolkata-based drummer Jivraj Singh to form Parekh & Singh, an indie pop mainstay in Kolkata and beyond.
The first two singles from Science City are a wonderful sign of the music yet to come. “Summer Skin” is a stripped-back mix of delicate chords, Singh’s understated percussion, and Parekh’s classic vocals. “Hello”, crisp as a spring morning, is a take on a meet-cute-gone-wrong, where two would-be lovers never quite strike up the courage to say, well, hello.
Top Five Records recently caught up with the duo for a short
interview. Read on below:
Top Five Records: How did the two of you meet? When did you start working together?
Parekh & Singh: We bumped into each other at a birthday party, and started working together in earnest in 2012.
TFR: Tell us a little bit about your musical process. How do you lay down the foundation of a track? At what point do you start penciling in the lyrics?
P&S: Most songs begin with the lyrics, and a foundation of melody & harmony. Rhythmic content in the form of percussion and electronics is usually added next, and then a back-and-forth process of exploration and editing begins until the arrangement and instrumentation are locked and the song feels finished.
TFR: Last time we spoke to you, Nischay, you mentioned that your musical influences range from Rod Stewart to Nat King Cole. We’re curious to know more about Jivraj’s influences. When did you first get into music? What did you grow up listening to?
P&S: (Jivraj) My primary influences are my parents (who were both musicians) and the music they were listening to – pop music in all its forms along with jazz and fusion from the 1940s to the 70s. I’ve been into music from the time I was a toddler, but I began the pursuit of music-making at the age of 18.
Image credits: Parizad D
TFR: You describe your new album, Science City, as a shift to the cosmos; we read it as a dream pop band’s take on science fiction, almost. What’s the inspiration – musical and otherwise – behind this rather specific theme?
P&S: We are avid fans of science: fiction and fact! The cosmos inspires us to study it with the scientific approach, while simultaneously inspiring us to react to it with our emotions and study ourselves. To us, music seems to function in a very similar way: an outward story-telling symbiotically coexisting with an inward story-search.
TFR: Your music videos are usually packed with specific details and distinctive imagery, whether it’s the rural greenery on “Ghost” and “I Love You Baby, I Love You Doll”, or the precise primary-color palette on “Summer Skin”. Tell us more about your creative process behind the music videos?
P&S: A lot of visualization and discussion goes into building a context for each album. We have a comprehensive and detailed set of guiding documents in place long before we even begin to think of a music video. Once there is a rigorous foundation in place we can have a bit of fun without getting too lost!
TFR: In our opinion, your videos and fashion sense have an unmistakable Wes Anderson vibe to them. What are your non-musical influences in shaping the band’s image?
P&S: We enjoy the feeling of “balance”. This concept and sensation is important in countless realms – health, art, relationships, science. The organization of colour, material and form – which results in the band’s image – is closely linked to our deeper desire to create and maintain balance in our lives.
TFR: Your new album releases on April 26th. What’s on the radar in terms of an album tour or other appearances?
P&S: We’re keen to play live, on TV and on the radio in as many countries as possible in support of the new album. It’s all work in progress at this stage but we will share information about our plans as soon as possible.
TFR: What’s on constant repetition at Parekh & Singh nowadays? (Aside from your own tracks, of course!)
P&S: 21 Savage, Angelo De Augustine, Ariana Grande, Chance the Rapper, Kacey Musgraves and Miles Davis.
TFR: And lastly, the most important question: where do you get your amazing suits from?
P&S: Barkat Ali & Brothers, Chowringhee Place, Kolkata.
You can listen to Parekh & Singh on most streaming services. Science City is out on April 26th, 2019. Keep an eye out!
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