Exclusive First Listen: Dualist Inquiry Pairs Up With Ramya Pothuri For 'Take Me Home'
9 October 2024
Earlier this year, when Sahej Bakshi aka Dualist Inquiry released his 3rd debut album (his first in 7 years) 'When We Get There', it seemed to mark a shift for the prominent Indian electronica act as he created from an introspective space, weaving electronic textures inspired by memories, reflections and fatherhood. Nearly 9 months later, he returns to a sound more familiar to his long-standing audience with the single 'Take Me Home', featuring R&B singer-songwriter Ramya Pothuri which turns his outlook again to the dancefloor with its 2-step beat and vocal hooks.
"While ‘When We Get There’ was about love, time and nostalgia, “Take Me Home” comes from a space of ease and playfulness," explains Sahej, sharing the single exclusively via Wild City ahead of its wider release. "After the introspection of the album, I found myself wanting to reconnect with other aspects of my music making, a big part of which is having fun, making people dance and bringing a feeling of ease and lightness to my gigs."
Perhaps from the exercise of creating emotion-centred 'While We Get There', 'Take Me Home' features an elevated maturity even as Sahej returns to his more characteristic fare of soundtracking the dancefloors. The production offers restraint and conviction in its every move, letting the emotional melody of Ramya's vocal hooks and performance take centre stage. Sahej arranges its pieces across and augments its expression with spacious pads as the largely held-back 2-step breaks keep the energy ticking at the back.
The combination falls together effortlessly, not the least giving away the fact that Ramya's vocals were delivered for an entirely different instrumental that didn't see the light of day and have been picked again to fit this newer instrumental. In this attempt, Sahej recognises the quality of the vocal part, releasing 'Take Me Home' both with the original mix and a dub version which highlights "the looping vocal chop and lack of distinct vocal parts [that] give a more hypnotic and flowy vibe" for a more DJ set-friendly offering.
Listen to the original mix of 'Take Me Home' below, ahead of its wider release on October 11, and follow Dualist Inquiry and Ramya Pothuri for more information.
Image by Sumaiya Sayed