In Pierre Bourdieu’s landmark study Distinction, the French sociologist mapped the social roles that shape culture — those who produce work, those who mediate taste, and those who consume it — a framework later updated by scholars and commentators into the shorthand we now call creator, curator and consumer. Today those roles help explain how the internet has reorganised attention: a booming creator economy sits next to an expanding curator class, while most remain the consumer.

And that divide has only sharpened in what many now describe as a two-tiered internet — a public web rooted in the dead internet theory, crowded with AI-generated, algo-driven recycled content, and a private web where original insight circulates in newsletters, closed communities, and paywalled spaces that search engines can’t reach. As one creator recently observed, the best work is no longer posted on the open internet at all, which flips the curator’s role from gatekeeping to pointing people toward what’s still human and intentional.

At Homegrown, that’s the work we commit to each month: tracking the most compelling new music emerging across South Asia and bringing it to you through our playlist. Here’s what we’ve gathered for you in the November edition:

'Skin' is an outstanding debut release for Onno collective by Goa-based composer, producer, and visual artist Skulk (the moniker of Katyayini Gargi). It is a twelve-track, synth-driven album that places her unique voice and songwriting reminiscent of Fiona Apple at the centre. It's bold, slightly off-kilter, and carried by inventive sound design. Structured in two halves, it moves between the inward work of staying afloat in everyday life and the outward push of navigating the socio-political world. Within this self-portrait, 'Scratch My Back' cuts in with a sultry, post-punk sound that lends a darker, alternative edge to the project.

'Mental Sunshine' is an introspective electronic EP by Delhi-based electronica artist Syeyl shaped by sonic experimentation and the search for meaning. Its sound draws from obscure folk records, atmospheric electronica, and avant-garde club textures, creating distinct expansive tracks. Across the project, warm synths, ambient passages, break-driven rhythms, and delicate vocal textures work together to form small pockets of brightness. Within the EP, 'Zenosyne' explores the feeling of life accelerating as you grow older through ticking clock-like rhythms, melodic motifs, breakbeats, and euphoric, evolving electronics.

Raf Saperra returns with 'Crook', the first single from his upcoming EP 'Venomz Vol. II', the follow-up to his cult favourite '5 Deadly Venomz'. The track brings back his signature mix of East Coast hip-hop and Punjabi folk, created once again with long-time collaborator Taj Aulakh. Built with the grit of street rap and the vibrancy of a Bhangra dancefloor, the single is framed as a hustler’s anthem for those who “move slick, stay sharp, and steal hearts,” as Raf describes it. The track continues his boundary-pushing approach to British Punjabi music, blending Punjabi folk, UK rap, and classic hip-hop.

Sakshi Chopra’s new dark-pop single is shaped by heartbreak and the process of rebuilding after it. It's driven by a cinematic production and subtle Indian sounds like the payal woven into the beat. Co-written with Kaydence and produced in Los Angeles with collaborators linked to Doja Cat and Lizzo, the track marks a sharper, more vulnerable turn in Chopra’s work. Her lyrics sit with the contradictions of wanting closeness while protecting oneself, framing the song as a moment of self-assertion and renewal.

V1XIT’s EP 'Kala Ek Jurm Hai' is a sharp, self-examining project that looks at what it means to choose art in a world that dismisses it as an unworthy pursuit . Across the tape, he writes about the pressure to abandon creativity for economic stability, the fear of falling short, and the pull of making music even when it complicates everything else. His verses move between frustration, humour, and vulnerable confession, tracing the everyday realities of balancing work, relationships, and the need to create. The EP also highlights the experimental, lyric-driven style he’s built as a rapper from Bandra East, shaped by influences like Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. The title track brings these ideas into focus through a clear statement about how, even when art feels risky or unwelcome, it remains the one thing that keeps him going.

Packers & Movers’ second single is built around the emotional fallout of giving everything to someone in a relationship and the loss that follows. The song sits firmly in the alternative and bedroom indie rock space, with everything from the guitars and vocals to the drums recorded at home. As a band, they continue to explore the emotional grey zones they’ve been shaping on their upcoming concept album about heartbreak and isolation. 'Foolish Thoughts' captures a facet of that vision, bringing love's self-doubt, disbelief, and confusion into focus.

'Bombay Acid' is Indo Warehouse’s return to Mumbai, bringing together Kunal Merchant’s production with Raja Kumari’s commanding vocals for a track described as a sonic homage to the city. The single blends deep, hypnotic house grooves with ancestral Indian textures, creating an underground club experience. Inspired by Charanjit Singh’s 'Ten Ragas to a Disco Beat', the single reimagines that legacy for a new generation, pushing Indo House further into global spaces while staying firmly rooted in South Asian identity.

Punk On Toast's new single marks the band’s first release since 2021 and is a pulsating encapsulation of their larger pop-punk/skate-punk sound. Rooted in their Mumbai suburban identity, the melodic pop-punk track pushes into darker emotional territory, tracing the feeling of losing control and watching things fall apart despite your best efforts. It channels the frustration, disillusionment, and the struggle to steady yourself when everything around you feels unstable, weaving that personal disquiet with a broader existential unease.

'Hey Diane' is a punchy rock single from Prithviraj Jadhav & The DANGERMEN that leans on vintage rock energy and the band’s knack for tight, performance-forward arrangements. The track is framed by the band as a rock ode to short-lived, flash-fire relationships. At its core, the song looks at love that burns bright but doesn’t endure, the way two people can drift into becoming strangers, and the hope that a brief connection can still become a lasting memory.

Dizlaw’s new single sits in the emotional space between wanting to break free and being pulled back by attachment. The track moves with a soft groove rooted in a lofi rendition of afrobeats, tracing how one moment of connection can lighten long-carried burdens while creating new ones of its own. The artist's verses circle around the fear of growing distant, while the hook settles into a kind of surrender, capturing a love that liberates just enough to make its hold even stronger.

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