Exclusive First Listen: philterSoup Finds A Common Place For Dance, Pop & Leftfield On Debut Album 'LIGHTS ON'

Earlier this month, Mumbai's Sanjay Das aka philterSoup released the first and only single from his upcoming album 'LIGHTS ON' with the Karshni-featuring 'I know you're here with me'. Ahead of the 10-track record's wider release on August 22, the producer-composer has shared 2 tracks from it exclusively via Wild City: 'Speak In Your Sleep', which features his longtime collaborator Satyajit Chatterji aka SAT, and 'Vessels', another one of his Karshni collaborations.

The lead single had indicated the upcoming sound to be paying homage to club music (with UK Garage in the specific instance) while leaving space for his collaborating songwriters to shine, and elevating the result from the usual dance pop through a leftfield gusto. The rest of the album leans even heavier on the latter as distorted fragments of electronic beats fall like textures rather than grooves amidst SAT's laments on 'Speak In Your Sleep'.

Throughout the album, philterSoup arrives with his club-ready sonic palette ready but waits for his collaborators (which also includes Rounak Maiti and Parekh & Singh's Jivraj Singh besides SAT and Karshni) songwriting to take the lead. He fills the remaining space with his production, sometimes letting the recognised elements like a breakbeat serve their usual purpose unadulterated, while other times concocting them as part of a maximalist textural assembly that often brings the songwriter's voice into its fold.

When not overdone, the adventurism frequently pays off, and 'Vessels' is another example of it. Distorting low-end booms contrast in their aggressiveness with the gentleness of Karshni's voice, adding grit and teeth as she delivers phrases in short gasps – representing a mix of cry and outcry that ties in to the song's intended meaning. Karshni explains: "'Vessels' examines the release of female rage, a meditation on suppressed frustration and resentment, and an articulation of anger that challenges conventional expectations of justification or restraint."

Listen to 'Speak In Your Sleep' and 'Vessels' below, exclusively via Wild City, ahead of the wider release of 'LIGHTS ON' on August 22. For more updates, follow philterSoup.