Homegrown loves bringing to you emerging artists and those who have established a niche in alternate genres hidden from the mainstream. Keeping things super fresh, we will be curating a weekly list of numbers we could not get enough of through the week and that we know will earworm themselves to your heart as well.
Scroll down for your weekly dose of latest releases.
I. Lifafa ‘SUPERPOWER 2020’
As experimental as always, Lifafa finally released his new album Superpower 2020 (in true Lifafa style, it released in 2021).
“I wish it was in better circumstances but today will be the day I release SUPERPOWER 2020. Yes, it’s 2021 and so I lied. We live in one of the greatest experiments ever run in the history of humanity. Never has so much been compressed into so little and forced to endure. Where time moves us, it’s impossible to know, but for now, we are a part of it and this album is not about a country but that experiment called India and all of its people. I had a very difficult time finishing this one, from both personal and technical perspectives, but I hope you hear what I hear when I listen to it, and you go, where it wants you to.” said the artist of the album from which he will also be raising funds for COVID-relief in the first 3 weeks of release.
He further added, “For the next 3 weeks, high-quality versions of SP 2020 will only be available for sale on Bandcamp and Instamojo. 50% of all sales will be donated to various organisations helping in the battle against COVID.” If India is an experiment, we can surely count on Lifafa to call a spade a spade in the most sonically diverse way with a sound that has come to be associated with just him.
You can stream Superpower 2020 here.
II. Prabh Deep ‘Paapi’
Almost as a continuation of the world that Prabh Deep led us to in his last album Tabia is his latest single ‘Paapi’ which once again explores the anxieties and the complex relationship that artists have with fame, their art, success and love. “Paapi describes the emotions of a man who is disconnected from his soul and living on the adrenaline rush that is given to him by the short term adulation of his fans and newfound well-wishers. The track lays bare the denial that the protagonist is consumed by, instead choosing to surround himself with people who constantly shower him with praise and deny him the reality check that he so desperately needs. Prabh showcases the delusions of a man who has forgotten his own reality and is content with living in this manufactured dreamscape that he finds himself in and is looking find peace by controlling the superficial aspects that govern his career, instead of looking for love and companionship,” said Azadi Records while releasing the song on YouTube.
III. Samar Mehdi ‘Martbaan’
Bhopal-based singer-songwriter and percussive finger-style guitarist Samar Mehdi has definitely made a mark in the Indian indie scene and if the proof is in the pudding, then his is definitely in those melodious and haunting vocals. His latest single ‘Martbaan’ is no stranger to his fans as he has been seen performing it at various sets but the single took 3 years in the making in collaboration with music producer Aman Arakh before it released last week.
“Martbaan is based on a poem by June Hüzün (also titled ‘Martbaan’) and when I first read it, I could hear it speaking to me like an old friend who just knew when to drop by. The poem almost immediately broke me down, not because I was going through something at that time, but because I’d had my share of this early on and at that point in time, I was seeing a dear friend of mine walking down the exact same path and I just couldn’t make myself useful to her or bring myself to barge into her matters uninvited. Anyway, when I came back to my senses, I had turned the poem into a song and felt it was the best way to subtly convey to her what I had gone through and what she may be heading towards. So, in all honesty, this song was born out of a desperate attempt to wake a friend up before it was too late,” revealed Samar on his YouTube channel.
IV. Shen B ‘Sunshine’
Jammu’s multifaceted hip-hop artist Shayaan Bhat aka Shen B dons many caps – from poet, producer, rapper to that of a terrific drummer. His latest single ‘Sunshine’ is an experimental track that is reminiscent of 90s hip-hop and rap that fuses with the modern twist of lo-fi. As is with most of his songwriting, it seems to borrow from his personal experiences while growing up. With smooth flow and uplifting vocals by AA2, the hook of the song is sure to keep you wanting more.
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V. Babiecinno ‘Gurl’
Pune-based singer-songwriter Karshni Nair, who blew us all away with the melancholic and hauntingly beautiful single ‘daddy hates second place’ earlier this year, debuts under the moniker ‘Babiecinno’ that explores what it means to subvert the male gaze and be queer. Of the single, the artist said on their Instagram, “gurl is an exploration of what it means to be queer and alone, and what it means to constantly try to merge and hide within the male gaze.” The lo-fi aesthetic along with beats at intervals resembling one’s heartbeats adds to the lyricism and production of the 1.42 minutes song. The short duration of the song will only have you asking for more from Babiecinno and we can’t wait to see what they do next.
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