2022 In Review
24 January 2023
2022 – the year that the world seemed to finally emerge out of the nightmare that was the COVID-19 pandemic. The year wasn’t without its tragedies with Pakistan finding a third of its country underwater due to severe floods, Sri Lanka getting covered in protests after a dire economic and administrative breakdown, and Russia aggressing on Ukraine which, in turn, and in combination with droughts and shortages, pushed the world towards energy crisis and inflation all around. Loss and struggles notwithstanding, however, compared to the hardships of the previous 2 years, 2022 finally had some optimism to it.
While people didn’t quite emerge embodying the start-of-the-pandemic narratives like “this is an opportunity to pause, reflect and recalibrate” or “we’ll emerge out of this more united”, there was a hunger and appreciation for being able to connect on the dancefloor again albeit alongside a shortage of social stamina.
Most of the festivals returned to welcome response with a few new ones like Jazz Weekender and the internationally-prominent Lollapalooza getting added to the events calendar of India. Though the changes over the past 2 years and the inflated logistical costs meant some festivals, notably NH7 Weekender and Lollapalooza, offered lineups that met with a notably disappointing response (in 2023, VH1 Supersonic seems to be following suit but there are more names to be announced).
Pakistan saw a remarkably beautiful first edition of Boiler Room off the back of the cross-cultural programme ‘Bridging The Gap’ which galvanized local trailblazers and diaspora alike. Within the diaspora, Dialled In, Sarathy Korwar and Ami Dang pushed the South Asian identity forward in foreign lands. While within the subcontinent, it was ultimately the artists that maintained the pluralism of styles while the “industry” around them, with no shortage of exceptions, seemed to keep its risks low, attempts to make a quick recovery of losses high and put less focus on exploring newer sounds. Sadly, it was also the year we lost two of the most promising unique young acts with the demise of MC TodFod and Sidhu Moosa Waala.
As we reflected on the year that’s been, we found that besides some fresher names, 2022 was primarily defined by familiar players re-evaluating their relationship with their practice and reinventing or expanding their own musicality, and, in the face of it all, brandishing the drive to do things on their own terms – the quality that defines alternative culture.
To support our claim, here is our pick of the most defining talents of 2022:
Chaar Diwaari
Garv Taneja aka Chaar Diwaari likely had the most meteoric rise within the alternative space in 2022. With a handful of regular single releases that blend hip-hop, indie electronica, the combination of romantic and flippant Hindi lyricism, irreverent doomer humour and the edge of lo-fi alongside collaborations with the likes of Yashraj and Shaastriji (now called Nanku) – the New Delhi artist arrived at the confluence of everything that’s been popular within the country’s contemporary youth. While Taneja’s recently released EP subverts some of that for a grittier embrace of alternative hip-hop, how he maintains that blend or builds upon it will remain a keen affair for 2023.
Parekh & Singh
The duo of Jivraj Singh and Nischay Parekh has been the pride and poster child of the Indian indie music scene for a while. Understandably, the pair have the agency to keep themselves separate from the noise and do things at their own pace – which is what they did with the gradual unrolling of their album ‘The Night is Clear’, dropping its music, videos and glimpses of its inspirations over the year. It is a work that suits it. Besides being the duo’s most adventurous effort, it sits quietly in your mind, slowly cropping up again and again in traces till songs like ‘The Nightingale’ and ‘Sleepyhead’ settle as the hitmakers’ best work to date.
Image by Parizad D
Sijya
Few artists will be able to boast a career kick-off as well-rounded, attractive and assertive as composer-producer-visual artist Sijya. Besides releasing her EP ‘Young Hate’ and the unique self-realised collaborative music videos of each of its 6 tracks via Mathew Herbert’s Accidental Records to covetable critical acclaim, the New Delhi act also marked her live debut by opening the live stage at Magnetic Fields Festival. Having the privilege of closely observing her trajectory, we’d credit the aforementioned to her earnestness and meticulous creative control which is also reflected in the intricacy and gradualness of her music, through which Sijya achieved immersive emotional impact while brandishing a unique and intuitive artistic voice.
Kiss Nuka
From a live set at Mixmag LAB that landed her a single with seminal British label Ninja Tunes’ imprint Ahead Of Time before she followed it up with the high-octane EP ‘Serpentine’ – 2022 was when Anushka Manchanda rounded her reinvention as Kiss Nuka, a polymathic outlet that goes from sombre and laidback to blazing tempos of dance music. More than just overtly through alluding to the EP’s namesake, Kiss Nuka reflected on a close-to-self transformation or ‘shedding of skin’ as she presented the 6 tracks which traverse the genres of club music.
Disco Puppet
Soumik Biswas aka Disco Puppet never does things the same and yet never manages to lose the characteristics that make them one of the most unique acts of India’s alternative music. With their latest album ‘Love & Everything Depressing’, the Bangalore act peeled down the layers of their music to offer their most songwriting-led venture which they also supplemented through videos and visuals throughout the year.
“I don’t put pressure on music-making because I know that I can pay rent and I can feed myself. Beyond that, the music is for me,” Biswas explained to us in 2022. The sentiment isn’t just evident on their recorded work. Catch them celebrate their music live with the loyal lovers of their music and co-conspirators, and it seems that Biswas has cracked the code to shutting out the noise and not worry about being anybody else but themselves.
NATE08
Nathan Thomas aka NATE08’s album ‘Furaha’, was perhaps the underrated release of 2022. It was actually spoken about plenty and celebrated well among those in the know at each of its drops, but it just packs the most evergreen compositions by the producer and bassist and the choicest performances by collaborators like Azamaan Hoyvoy, Jitwam (who dropped a standout album of his own with ‘Third’), Naisha and Lojal, that it needs to be talked about more. The reason for that might be that, just like in the case of the above-mentioned Parekh & Singh album, ‘Furaha’ skips the immediate strong impression to instead become a layered work that gets stronger with each listen.
Karshni
Previously a curious entrant of the music space in India with a few odd singles, Karshni gradually gave the biggest bump yet to her discography in 2022 – adding 9 more entries to her Bandcamp (almost the only place her music can be found) alongside standout collaborations and regular live appearances. All of this she carried out off the back of sincere emotional wistfulness that’s reflected just as much in her lyricism as it does in the barebone arrangements and productions of her records.
FILM / Tyrell Dub Corp
New Delhi’s Sanil Sudan presented one of the tightest combinations of evocative atmospheres and dancefloor grooves with the eponymous album of his long-standing moniker FILM – and he did it while throwing in influences from IDM, hip-hop and beyond. While the 13-track album wears its influences (particularly, Burial) on its sleeve, it manages to capture an intimate emotional tone without losing its purpose in the club like few can manage. Sudan would have made our list for the album alone, but it was also the year he took his dub techno outlet Tyrell Dub Corp live where embraced his dub and reggae roots with surprising closeness.
J Block
With hip-hop being one of the most popular singular genres in the country, it is full of practitioners sounding like each other and chasing trends. Among them, the creative collective J Block are emerging as a source of fresh ideas while still embodying desi hip-hop original values of a Facebook-born community that’s supporting each other’s vision and keeping doors open for anyone who aligns. With a year full of releases from its members that ranged from modern renditions of folk lyricism to old-school raps, the quickest way to get a view of the collective is through their compilation ‘Kho Kho’.
Monophonik
Shatrunjai Diwan aka Monophonik kicked off the year with his EP ‘Cherry-Picked’ via Leeds label Reel Long Overdub – a partnership that proved supremely fruitful over the year, especially with his India-focused compilation for the label’s ‘Reel Small World’ series. All that comes on top of another EP released via Qilla Records and features in compilations by NARR Radio and Radiant Love Berlin.
NAARI
Neeraja aka NAARI entered our radars with the early promise of her soaring and unique vocal quality in 2019. 3 years later, the New Delhi-origin artist gave an even more intimate view of it with her eponymous debut album. Produced by lauded British act FINK, the 9-track album dropped all the frills to focus on the emotionality of the songwriting and the performance, still maintaining our intrigue and anticipation with NAARI’s future work.
Azadi Records: Seedhe Maut & AHMER
It’s tricky to count Azadi Records as a year highlight for the label has moved with grandiosity every year since its start in 2017. Not to mention, after their ascent as one of the leading institutions of desi hip-hop, it has become increasingly tricky to club them within the alternative culture. However, in 2022 the label and its artists showcased a heightened vigour of doing and saying things that feature the unique moves and boldness that defined the label.
Besides laudable releases by the likes of Rebel 7 and Ali Saffudin, the key highlights were Kashmiri rapper Ahmer’s sophomore album ‘Azli’ which saw him get even more personal in his accounts of the political toll paid by his home and its people, and ‘Nayaab' by Seedhe Maut and Sez On The Beat. The latter album marked the return of the rap duo’s partnership with the producer by presenting a companion piece to their previous breakthrough collaboration ‘Bayaan’, dropping it along with NFT releases and experimenting with the experience of galvanizing the community while putting out music.
Stain
Quality over quantity – that’s the justification behind how New Delhi’s Sourodeep Guha aka Stain became one of our highlights of 2022 just largely through 2 singles. With a collaboration with Zed Bias on ‘Delhi Birds’ earlier in the year and with the formidable DJ Plead on ‘Rent Request’ late in the year, Stain was the co-author of some of the best electronic tracks of the year that deservedly found themselves in prolific mixes and press features – all the while showcasing Stain’s dub and Indian individuality.
Dappest x adL
The Indian subcontinent is never short on talents emulating R&B and soul influences. From that crop, the duo Shillong's producer Adiel Massar aka adL and rapper Dappest stood out with the polished and slick album ‘At Your Service’. Not just the best work in neo-soul from India in the year, the 11-track flirted with contemporary pop and African influences without losing its emotional definition.
Noni-mouse
This isn’t the first time Radhapriya aka Noni-mouse will be one of our year’s highlights, but the Mumbai talent reinvented or starkly honed parts of herself as evident through the EP ‘Quasi’ and the single ‘Depresent’. While quirky electro-pop was always her thing, this year saw her add both open and vulnerable songwriting and hard-hitting grooves to the mix. Top that with multi-disciplinary performances, international residencies, and metaverse exhibitions, and 2022 is an easy highlight for the unique artist.
Kartik Sudhera
With a release each month of largely beat tapes, Ludhiana’s Kartik Sudhera asserted himself as the latest serial sampling-based beat maker of the country while presenting the full view of his prowess. What sets apart the producer from other lo-fi sample flippers is the refusal to stick to the formulaic and carry out experimentations without the fear of failings.
Tribemama Marykali
It might as well have been 2021 that we would have marked as the year of Tribemama Marykali. The Malayali-descent artist has just been laying down prolific years one after another. Aside from supplementing her work with new entries like ‘Kerala Gold’, Anna Katharina Valayil brought all of it together as a whole with performances and features across the country, including at our very own Jazz Weekender and Magnetic Fields Festival, to emerge as one of the more exciting live R&B specialists.
Meba Ofilia
Shillong’s Meba Ofilia has been a revered name within India’s hip-hop community even before the genre’s recent boom within the country. In 2022, she demonstrated why with her album ‘Untitled.shg’ as she subverted common trends to present a vision that’s authentic to her self. Pop, soul, R&B and even gospel blended into the mix as she gathered producers and collaborators to deliver the most succinct creative stamp of her career so far – achieving it on top of appearances across compilations and works by friends.
Bo Sedkid
Our favourite South Asian hip-hop works came from Sri Lanka in the form of Muvundu Binoy aka Bo Sedkid’s album ‘Goring’ – a good amount for how it weaves in and out of the genre through its experimental songwriting. Full of grit and adventurism, the 14-track album dealt with everything from current political topics to local folklore and emerged as an ingenious conceptual work of experimental hip-hop that embodies the fresh ideas found in the subcontinent.
Jay Pei
While Jay Pei has been a well-appreciated name in the dance music circuit for a while, in 2022, the New Delhi-based producer and DJ broadened his horizons considerably beyond his regular fare of melodic techno. While his excursions into the cinematic with 2021’s ‘Squares’ began to reflect even in his dance records like 2022’s ‘A Passage Of Time’, the new directions were particularly in bloom with his dynamic performances in the year. Whether with the ensemble ‘Interlude’, the even more impressive solo live sets or the series of workshops and performances he curated under the title of ‘Dairo’ – we see Jay Pei’s attempts to do things differently as a very welcome effort.
YNZN.P
Kathmandu’s Prasidha Yonzon aka YNZN.P released not one but two appreciable EPs this year while also being part of Nepal’s post-pandemic return to live events to solidify his place as one of the country’s leading electronic acts. Both ‘Couldn’t Dance to Save My Life’ and ‘Better Check Yourself’ saw the producer and DJ channel his earlier hip-hop influences increasingly within the brackets of more dancefloor-friendly genre-umbrella of bass music.
M.A.P // A.M.P
In a year of wars, premature government switchovers, hate-inciting propaganda films, controversies over religious attires in schools, journalist arrests and much more, Goethe-Institut’s multi-pronged program M.A.P // A.M.P continued to shed light on the voices speaking truth to power in South Asia and, with their extensive crowdfunded library of activist music, even beyond. From radio shows, podcasts, albums, documentary films and playlists, the programme has created a much-needed and extensive repository of works where music and activism meet in the subcontinent.
Antariksh Records
Antariksh Records has emerged as one of the newest institutions in the country that have been strongly safeguarding the place of leftfield and hard-hitting sounds on the dancefloor. In 2022, the New Delhi-based label solidified its place as such through high-energy works by the likes of Fr4ctal, Zero State Kid and Marbman while developing the culture around them through radio residencies and vinyl listening sessions.
Kraken
New Delhi rock group Kraken returned to drop their first release in five years with the crowdfunded EP ‘Club Namaste’ and hit every mark their listeners and, we imagine, they themselves wanted to hit. Over 7 tracks that included their instant-hit and single ‘Khan Market Gang’, the group crossover into R&B and hip-hop and address personal as well as contemporary issues without sacrificing the fun and energy of rock to deliver a classic of a genre that’s dwindling in the country.
Begum
Another one to drop their first long-form in 5 years was the Delhi-Goa trio of Kartik Pillai, Dhruv Bhola and Karan Singh i.e. Begum who deliver some of their tightest songwriting on tracks like ‘Better Person’ and ‘Maybe Baby’ while bringing back the charm that defines Begum on the album ‘Are you ok?. After shows supporting the release, the band spent the later half of the year more quietly – save for the work of its individual members, notably Jamblu's remarkable EP ‘Service Animal’, and performing as members of other prominent outfits. Yet, the delight of their 10-track release goes down as another thing we appreciate 2022 for.
Top 5 Wild City Mixes Of 2022:
We are grateful each year to the quality that artists bring to the table when creating a Wild City mix. To celebrate that effort, here our five favourites from the year:
1. Sunara
While most mixes quickly offer an atmosphere for you to immerse in or pass, Sri Lankan DJ Sunara gently builds it around you – lulling you in first with gentle thumps and curious soundscapes before great depths unravel within the scope of minimal house and adjacent genres.
2. AAGUU
AAGUU takes us to the earlier days of house and techno, while they were still close to their celebratory and colourful roots before getting defined by immersive darkness.
3. M.A.P // A.M.P
While we have praised the work done by M.A.P // A.M.P above for what it stands for, the juxtaposition of the music it has collected makes for a curious listen that’s charged in insight, emotion and styles.
4. Okedolo
The duo of Ishaan Gandhi aka Okedo and Rohan Sinha aka Dolorblind marked the release of their EP ‘Season 1’ as Okedolo with selections that are as fun as their own music.
5. Deep Brown
With no dips in energy and a constant psychedelic immersiveness, Deep Brown channelled his mastery at soundtracking the dancefloor for a headphone experience.
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Words by Amaan Khan
Artwork by Sijya Gupta