Anyasa speaks about his first EP - 'Gaya' under his new artistic identity', his association with Anjunadeep Records & his own Anjuna connection, his thoughts on house music, & much more...

The Goa bred artist has found an authentic sound that, true to his name, channels feminine energy in a grounded, effortless and nurturing way. The simplicity factor that is at the core of his creative process has really worked in favour of the music, letting the vocals shine all through the record.

One Sunday evening, a couple of days after Diwali, I was walking through the Sanjay Gandhi National park in Mumbai - my little escape from the big city. It was close to sunset and nature’s orchestra was just warming up to take over the sonic scape of the night. On this day, I had been in a rather brooding mood, which is particularly rare in my case…one of the few times when life had got the better of me. I was subconsciously searching for a sign that life is beautiful - as if I really needed one - a silver lining.

Then as if out of a movie scene, a kid on a bicycle with her phone in her back pocket drove past me, and from her phone speaker, ‘Pran’ by Ritviz was playing at a rather modest volume. She had an innocent and joyful abandon about her as she clumsily rode her bicycle while bobbing her head to the beat. At that moment, it appeared to me like she, I, the park, and indeed all of Mumbai was dancing to the same tune. We were one with the music and in harmony with nature.

About fifteen mins later, I saw a bunch of kids sitting in a circle on the rocks, enjoying the sunset with just one phone speaker and another Ritviz track that very evidently was leading them into an almost inebriated state of bliss. But this wasn't the effect of Old Monk or Kingfisher...it was just the music. Because it understands you. And when you understand that, then life is never the same.

So who is Ritviz, the man behind the music? A young man just hopelessly in love with life..? Read on and find out!

“Nothing is too precious, yet everything is precious.”

‘Manam’ is a musical opus by the mother & son duo of Asha & Rohith Jayaraman in which they explore the topographies of their own hearts to recognize and express their innermost reflections on some fundamental issues of society pertaining to colour, caste, religion and public opinion.

Strongly guided by their Carnatic roots, they venture boldly into the stylistic realms of spoken word, jazz, rock and more in between. What stands out most about the album, above even the majestic musical virtuosity and honesty of the message, is that it evokes a clear and positively hopeful image of what we can make of ourselves and hence the world around us, if we invoke our inner strength and humanity and focus on the process of growing, adapting and marching forward in life. Thus, it serves as a perfect reminder to us all to retain and nurture our human-ness in a fast-expanding and ever-evolving world, and furthermore, to be at the forefront of this evolution.

Bric á Brac’s music puts together sonic snippets and significant moments from his life in a highly intriguing way. Just like its namesake, seemingly random elements are ornamentally intertwined to reveal the bigger picture like a jigsaw puzzle, or a bouquet of assorted & personal sentiments.

His debut record ‘Specimen 001’ owes much of its existence to many cherished moments, significant places, special people, and an eloquent poetic nostalgia that binds it all together beautifully with the mucilage of the artist’s own unique expression. Immaculately integrating his own individuality into a larger collective coherence, Bric á Brac has unmistakably put a part of his soul into the record, which makes it resonate with a profound and sincere sheen.

Spatialize’s sublime musical expression is a result of early exposure to his grandmother’s piano, discovering the digital keyboard & the power of sampling, being a bassist in bands, and last but not least “being left to his own devices” (literally). All of these constituted vital parts of his journey and germinated into a vast body of work that displays his signature open, organic, psychedelic sound.

The two albums featured here are ‘Squaring the Circle’ which consolidates some of his earlier works and ‘Searching for the Source’ - a nod to the eternal search for meaning that mankind has embarked upon. The UK-based artist also shares several gold nuggets of wisdom from his three-decade-long experience as a musician, and gently confirms the fact electronic music can really flow from the heart.

Kojo’s triple album ‘Yes I Can’ is a chronicling of the Israeli artist’s personal and professional developmental journey over the past several years. He dives deep into the abyss to return with a multifaceted triple threat of a record that is a healthy convolution between the sounds of psytrance, downtempo and last but certainly not least, the artists own interpretation of what these words stand for.

Being an active propagator of authentic electronic music through his brainchild ‘Fusion Culture’, just like the rest of his peers, Kojo is all set to catapult electronic music culture to new heights with this gritty, honest, unabashedly bold and cutting edge offering ‘Yes I Can’.

The Israeli music scene seems to be the gift that keeps on giving to the rest of the world. Absalon is a prime example of such an artist who bends the conventional norms of electronic music, gently sailing into new sonic shores.

His latest EP ‘The Mind’ released on The Rust Music Label is an absolutely meditative yet intense trip that does full justice to the complex human construct that the record is named after. The producer brandishes floating melodies over crystalline soundscapes that unfurl in irrefutable organic detail. For those of us who dig well-engineered, emotive and experimental music, this EP will effortlessly lift your spirits off the ground and keep you there for a while too.

Breger is a well-known force in the electronic music scene in India. The Goa-based German artist has been propagating his unique brand of techno/house/psychedelic music across seas for over 15 years, and it’s not possible to spend even a week in Goa without landing up at one of his parties. His subliminal style varies from minimal to savage techno, and reflects his dark and groovy approach with a psychedelic twist. He has always pushed the boundaries of dance music, bending genres seamlessly to create his unique sound.

In this ‘Innerview’, Breger talks about his musical background and influences, how he conceived his signature sound, and also some fun facts and interesting tidbits about his last 3 EPs which includes ‘For The Culture’ - an EP that he made in his jungle studio in Goa during the first lockdown, and is evidently in support of the underground music culture that he has been such a vital part of. His vast body of work and contribution to the underground electronic music scene speaks for itself, and I’m stoked to see what he has in store for us in the future!

Smigonaut’s latest EP ‘New Escape’ brings a pleasing melodic melange and a nonchalant swing into bass music - a rather unique sound that the Boston-based electronic artist is well-known for.

Striking a highly refined balance between the experimental ingredients and a solid 2&4 stomp, this three-track trip combines exciting sonic elements in a manner that will send you shimmying across the floor and at the same time, never leave you lacking for low-end. Intelligent, sensitive, groovy and energetic, ‘New Escape’ is one of the hottest EPs to drop in the left-field neuro bass sonic sector this year.

If you haven’t heard of Michael League, be prepared to immerse yourself into an ocean of virtuosity, joy & musical madness as there is no better time than now! The electrifying bass player and bandleader, who is very likely to be your favourite musician’s favourite musician, is the soul of the Grammy-winning outfit Snarky Puppy, and in his debut solo album ‘So Many Me’ he reveals a more intimate and vulnerable side of his creative expression.

Michael played every single instrument on the record including vocals, piano, synths, bass and Turkish percussion, as well as wrote, composed and conceptualized all of the tracks - talk about being in a league of his own! The music is fittingly poignant, uniquely uplifting and refreshing & the lyrics speak about various things like relationships, death and the cycles of life. As stated by the artist, it is above all a record about human observation, and is definitely one of my favourite records of the year so far!

Ilan Rubin’s brand new track ‘Talk, Talk, Talk’ conveys a carefree criticism of how people love to talk in excess about everything and nothing without much substance, and a mindful message to remain silent unless we have something truly worth sharing.

Ilan is a musician who needs no introduction, being one of the most successful rock drummers and musicians alive today, and the youngest person ever to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame as a part of the highly-acclaimed industrial rock act ‘Nine Inch Nails’. The song has an unmistakably nostalgic ‘yesteryears’ vibe to it - think ‘‘if The Beatles made songs in the 80s/90s’ - perhaps vying to take us back to a time when communication technology was less evolved and widespread than it is today, and it was much easier to find what really mattered in the sea of chatter. It exhibits Ilan’s all-round proficiency and musicianship on vocals, piano and guitars, apart from the usual drumming duties, and is his first release from a full-length album soon to come.

Keith Wallen’s latest single ‘All Eyes On You’ from his upcoming album ‘This World Or The Next’ is a call-to-arms for us all to live and act from a place of positivity especially in testing times like these.

The American musician is best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist in Breaking Benjamin, and his solo effort is teeing up to be a massive one, with ‘This World Or The Next’ poised for worldwide release tomorrow. It promises to showcase KJ’s incredible voice, songwriting and guitar playing skills but most of all guarantees to pack a heavy emotional wallop, the kind that true rock music fans crave and can’t get enough of.

Frank Zummo’s ‘Ways To Go’ featuring Keith Wallen on vocals is one among a series of brand new songs that the prolific LA-based musician & songwriter has put out under his self-titled solo project. The track and many other sizzling singles are out now on EDM & Bass Music giant Jauz’s genre-bending record label ‘Bite This’.

Best known as the drummer for the uber-popular rock band Sum41, as well as the backbone of well-known acts like Street Drum Corps, Dead By Sunrise and Thenewno2, Frank combines his undying love for Rock and Electro with his extensive experience as an entertainer to embark on a journey that includes some equally iconic collaborators like Dan Estrin from Hoobastank and KJ Wallen from Breaking Benjamin. The spot-on songwriting, uplifting vocals and fresh production, driven by Frank’s electric drumming, all synergize beautifully to give us the rock music of the now and future.

Autocatalytica’s third album ‘Powerclashing Maximalism’ established the Canadian progressive metal band as certified risk-takers who are also capable of thrusting the listener into battle with a full-blown prog-symphonic power-metal orchestra

The engine of the album is driven by rhythmechanical guitars and drums, teeth-grinding pot-smashing riffs and augmented by alluring arpeggios, meandering melodic runs & frantic rolls in between… all adding up to a behemoth of a sonic force.

The balance and transitions between melodic vocals and verses and throaty growling hooks, structural breakdowns and open, free-flowing instrumental sections are definitely to my liking, with some edgy musicianship and borderline virtuosity on display along the likes of ‘Mike Stern or Dave Fuzinski meets modern metal maestros‘ - think Devin Townsend, Textures, Lamb Of God & Pain of Salvation.

The band exhibits surprising stints of sensitivity like in Trash Serum, versatility and a sense of humour like in ‘Bananas have Potassium’ before hurtling the listener back into a chasm of growling abyss like in the deliberately slow and haunting ‘Crawboi’, a tumultuous downpour of emotion and energy like in Cheggo and a contrary yet complementary outro ‘Graveo’.

Looking back, ‘Powerclashing Maximalism’ was definitely one of the most interesting metal gems from 2020.

Berlin-based Avilente’s ‘Along The Shores Of An Infinite Memory’ takes us through a poetic and pensive passage of ideas of universal karmic memory, akashic libraries and quantum physics alike. Believing in the premise that “As conscious beings, we receive and give back into this ocean of memory and this cycle repeats endlessly”, this ambient downtempo journey is a sonic visualization of standing and drifting back and forth along the shorelines of the infinite cosmic memory.

Flore’s ‘Rituals Remixes 1 & 2’ were born out of the success of last year’s ‘Rituals’ album. These tracks are imbued with a focused and powerful reverie that bear testimony to her long and compelling career.

The dynamic French producer talks about her journey as a female musician/DJ, personal challenges, becoming the first woman in France to become an Ableton-certified trainer & going back to her musical roots. She also shares her influences and some rudimentary advice, while herself being an inspiration to all.

Multi-genre music producer and bonafide all-rounder Gardnsound continues his ambient journey with ‘Atmospheres’, a radiant and breezy 6-track long waft. The album was created completely with hardware instruments, and fully hands-on without automation of any parameters to get a humanized feel.

The artist, who is also known for his association with glitch-wizard and Ableton guru Mr. Bill, runs a multifaceted company ‘Easy Peasy Pro’ which provides personalized and customized technical & repair solutions and happens to be a prolific proponent of the DIY philosophy which he intrinsically wove into the creation of this record.

In his latest album ‘Speechless’, Belgian guitarist and musician Manu Ribot takes us on an experimental sonic sojourn inspired by things that leave him…speechless! In this blatantly instrumental soundtrack of stupefaction, Manu unforgivingly takes on various horrible, ludicrous and broken aspects of the modern system with a subtle sprinkle of Belgian wit, plenty of attitude, and both his middle fingers perpetually raised. In today’s increasingly flattering musical landscape, ‘Speechless’ is a breath of fresh air that won’t fail to raise a question or strike a chord, or a few, in the listener’s mind.