On her new album, The Living World’s Demands, Baltimore-based musician Ami Dang uses ambient synth sounds to ask big questions about where we are today. Dang’s sitar and experimental synth conjure a dreamlike atmosphere and their vocals ask us to respond to the nightmares of our time. Dang highlights the struggle for reproductive justice, the … Read More
Following close on the heels of their first solo music project Ushamami, music producer and multimedia artist Mena Sachdev returns this fall as Blue Mena. With the September release of their music video for debut single “Knocked Out,” Blue Mena exudes continuity and growth from Ushamami, as they construct a distinct alternative pop-rock sound to center queer … Read More
It’s a quiet day, and rain pours incessantly outdoors. You’re awake and alone, accompanied only by the humdrum of your own breathing. You made yourself a chai, but it quickly lost its warmth while you weren’t looking. You’re feeling blue, but can’t quite discern why. Or perhaps you’re keenly aware, but can’t seem to see … Read More
“One Time in Lebanon,” the third single from British-Indian singer and songwriter Prianca RA, is unusual for placing agency where it rightly belongs – in the hands of protagonist Habiba, who carves and expresses her own life story. In a world that all too often relegates women to unnamed and obscure character roles, the song … Read More
Priestess, a debut album from Karachi-based artist YULLOLA, breaks free from earthly realities and transports us into a new transcendental domain. Set in a galactic black hole, the album shows the artist assuming the identity of an extraterrestrial priestess and carving her own dystopian musical niche. For YULLOLA, this critical distance from humankind is not … Read More
Off his latest studio album The Way That Lovers Do, Prateek Kuhad’s new single “Favorite Peeps” explores the feeling of pain and the accompanying desire for human connection. The song’s graceful swung melody overlays a simple guitar rhythm, and is decorated with synthesized pitch bends, melismatic vocal stretches, and shrill bell tones. The music video … Read More
With his debut EP softworld out last month, electronic music artist and producer Shine Robbins gives us music that is futuristic and genre-defying. From the convergence of classical and modern in “Blue” to graphic evocations of the living world in “Nest,” the eight tracks comprising softworld conjure a multitude of sonic and emotional worlds. Robbins … Read More
Popular Trinidadian chutney musicians Ravi B and Nari’s recent “Gulabi Aankhen” remake boldly refashions the 1970 Bollywood classic with a global twist. As a master of chutney soca, Ravi B is no stranger to fusion. His music effortlessly weaves Indian filmi and Afro-Caribbean soca styles to create a distinctive chutney sound. This time, with “Gulabi … Read More
Ashni’s new EP Who I Dreamed Of begins with a whisper – the musician lilts softly over a persistent strumming and gentle piano with the first song “Light Bends.” Instantly reminiscent of the singer-songwriters of the 90s and aughts but with Ashni’s own signature touch, Who I Dreamed Of is only three songs but it … Read More
No one captures unrequited love like FLTY BRGR GRL. In their latest album Love You Forever, the Oslo-based garage pop duo not only highlights the heart-fluttering, adrenaline-pumping parts of crushing, but also the realizations that come once the fantasy of the crush has been shattered. They put music to the high school feeling of memorizing … Read More
