Kartik Sudhera Mixes West-Coast Style & Lo-Fi On New Beat-tape 'UMBRO.'
28 March 2024
Ludhiana's Kartik Sudhera has been dropping a string of beat tapes for the past 4 years, the latest of which, entitled 'UMBRO.' drops as his strongest.
Brandishing the scuttling snare and hi-hat driven rhythms and choppy sampling style of West Coast beatmakers like Knxwledge and Flying Lotus, the 16-track release sees the grainy chords of its samples become warm pads. The style of the EP gets firmly established by the pounding heavy drums of the second track 'forrst_.' which packs a grit that's more assertive and singular than most of Sudhera's previous work.
The collection reminds of scorching sunny streets and clear skies when it is at its most evocative, but it's elevated from being generic on numbers like 'together ^_^' and 'fotograhfs.' – both of whom opt for more euphoric and blissful grounds. The latter especially offers a more hypnotic journey with its repetitive vamping harmony offering a grounding element against the soaring string lines.
Listen to 'UMBRO.' below and follow Kartik Sudhera here.