Wild City: Singled Out March 2016

8 April 2016

‘Unikona’ by Paralights and Sandunes

Politics in music seems to be the flavour of the season with Sandunes and Paralights continuing last month’s streak in their day-long collaborative creation ‘Unikona’. We’re not sold on the chipmunked vocals and, not gonna lie, those petulant-college-freshman lyrics are a bit cringe. Maybe I’d be more comfortable with this if either Sandunes or Paralights had referenced politics in the past, because this feels a little forced. Still, it’s interesting to see Ardeshir collaborating even more than she already has and try, step out of her sonic comfort zone and play around a little.

‘Graveyard Shift’ by Tollcrane

‘Graveyard Shift’ was released via RBMA right before Karachi producer Tollcrane released his ‘Trips Alone’ EP (which we’re listening to right now, and enjoying a fair bit). The song is one of the more obviously techno influenced tunes on the EP and a left-of-field, antsy, late night dancefloor destroyer whose choppy layers peak towards the end. Sure, it’s fairly straightforward, but completely absorbing nonetheless.

‘The Content Breeze’ by Worms Cottage

This is the first bit of music from Worm’s Cottage since ‘Borokhun’, his contribution to Consolidate’s ‘FRNDS & FMY ‘16’ compilation. Not a lot happens in ‘The Content Breeze’ – it’s a fairly uncomplicated number that makes a shift from beat and sample driven productions to something more languid, less hectic and more ‘grown up’. The un-falsetto’d vocals are a welcome addition and while the track might be a bit deadlocked, it's got some elements we’d like to see him employ in his next album (whenever that’s out).

‘R S T I . M A’ by S I S T E R

Think monks’ chants resounding off dark, damp monastery walls, wailing, schizophrenic Diamanda Gala/MeredithMonk-esque female vocals layered over the most recognisably sinister instrument known to mankind (an organ, obviously). Leh based Ruhail kaizer also makes music with Delhi grindcore outfit BONEFVCKER, so a lt of his influences stem from metal. His solo project as S I S T E R sounds like a fuzzy black soundtrack to our most primal human fears and derangements; completely unnerving and deeply intriguing. He’s playing in Bombay this weekend for REProduce’s listening session.

‘Villain’ by Slow Spin

We’re really digging the captivating first track off Karachi based artist Slow Spin’s forthcoming ‘Ports’ EP. She’s got a gorgeous voice that’s has a faraway, almost unhuman quality to it. The percussion, elastic string and background riffs add a really distinct flavour to the whole thing as well.

‘Keeeeen’ by Disco Puppet

Enough with the sporadic singles. I think it’s about time for something more cohesive that ties Disco Puppet’s candy tinted electronic tunes and bizarre lyrics together. His new song ‘Keeeen’s built along similar lines to his Weekend Sounds and features distorted wobbly vocals and sufficiently puzzling lyrics layered over frantic beat and melody. A nice little attempt by the Bangalore artist again.

‘Informal’ by Ruthba Irteza Chowdhury

‘Informal’ is a deep, dark, downtempo treat from Dhaka’s Ruthba Irteza Chowdhury. The tune features hushed vocal samples hidden under evocative keys, metallic percussion and gentle string for something quite lovely. + 10 to anyone who can find the hidden Shakira sample.

‘Jungli Sher’ by DIVINE

DIVINE released a pretty solid video for his tune ‘Jungli Sher' this month, which was shot on an iPhone. It’s already racked up over 470,000 views on YouTube. The great thing about modern desi rappers like DIVINE and Naezy is how raw the music feels. This is Indian music that feels right without your token bansuri/bollywood sample/wobbly classical vocals thrown in for the fuck of reinforcing an identity. DIVINE lets his lyrics do the talking again, and presents himself with a firm self assurance and energy that has (and will hopefully continue) to catapult him and India’s nascent hip-hop scene to better places.

Art credit (thumb): Showmik Biswas
Words: Diya Gupta

Share

Join Our Mailing List