Drēokt is an independent audio-visual centric design studio of Indian artist, Yatharth Roy Vibhakar, that works with the creation of album artworks, music composition, brand identity design, art direction and brand style guides.
Under Drēokt, Yatharh has also been releasing his music projects for over a decade and has built a discography of ethereal music. With unusual meter and a free-flowing rhythm, his compositions move beyond the templates of song structure into an experience. His latest soundtrack-oriented album, Plato's Cave is yet another collection of such thematic soundscapes and features artwork by designer Utsav Verma. The artist classifies this album as a piece of 'sound fiction' that aims to break away from how music albums are generally perceived.
"Plato's Cave takes inspiration from multiple points and metaphors; the leading sources being the allegory — Plato's Cave, the birth and death of a volcano, and personal experiences. The album is meant to be experienced in a modular format - having the listener make a tracklist that feels most personal to them for their interpretation of the album, rather than the standard form of A-Z narratives. The album shifts across conflicts dealing with the aftermathof being undone, utopia and dystopia."Drēokt
The 16-track album is a pretty conceptual depiction of experiences driven by narratives. It feels like the artist is trying to stretch the definitive boundaries of music as well as its overall interpretation, not unlike his previous projects. The track names also play with the album's theme with Monomyth, Zeno's Paradox and Concatenate be acting as interludes of sorts. There are also the almost threatening and ominous rhythms of Contretempts and the transcendental, uplifting strings of Obeisance. Roseate just outright gives me a picture of a misty, enchanted forest.
All the tracks off Plato's Cave have a similar quality that make them a series of sensorial milestones in a non-linear journey. The production embodies the same abstraction and eternal beauty that can be found in the artist's visual designs. It's an album that stands out in terms of composition, theme and imagination and exists as a multi-dimensional, musical version of a philosophical interpretive dance.
You can listen to it here.
If you enjoyed reading this, we also suggest:
Pushing The Envelope: The Creative Authenticity Of Kavya Trehan
Dreamhour’s New Synthwave Album Is A Homegrown Portal To The Vibrancy Of The 80s
Hip Hop Artist Yashraj’s New Music Video Is a High-Contrast Montage Of Metaphors