Jwala’s First All-Women Release Pushes For A More Inclusive Music Industry

“The idea was (and still is) to provide a platform for upcoming talent in the electronic music spectrum,” Brij Dalvi (Three Oscillators and zzz) says. One of the eight young producers of this Mumbai-based collective that also includes artist Palash Kothari (Sparkle & Fade), sound engineer and producer Apurv Agrawal (Cowboy and Sailor Man), Ayush Jajoria (who goes by the artist name Ayush), Nikunj Patel (Moebius), Veer Kowli (who goes as chrms), Karan Kanchan and Rohan Sinha (Dolorblind), Brij traces the beginning of Jwala to a REProduce Listening Room session in Bandra in April last year. Shortly after, Palash Kothari aka Sparkle & Fade, and member of that serendipitous jam session, floated the idea of starting a collective. A Facebook group, a WhatsApp group and fervent planning later, Jwala released their first compilation.

What they weren’t prepared for was the response to it. The compilation was picked up by Indian music blogs and websites and producers from across the country sent in their demos to Jwala, hoping to find place on their next compilation. Since then, the collective has evolved into a platform that celebrates the diversity of “underground alternative” music. The curation of each compilation, Brij explains, is based on that fact that “We’re suckers for originality.”

So the release of their eighth compilation has more to do with curating incredible Indian music talent than anything else, really. ‘Now’ is Jwala’s first all-women release, that went up on Soundcloud on April 6, and has done exactly what the collective always intended to–become the go-to source for the country’s freshest music. Each of the members harboured a ‘collective frustration’ for the monotonous music that was being played at venues and gigs between 2014 and 2016 and Jwala is a response to that.

Speaking to Brij about ‘Now’, he tells me that the release was always in the pipeline. “It features emerging musicians and producers from the subcontinent like Aditi Ramesh, RDKL (Radha Priya), Heedless (Uvika Wahi) and Gaya (Gaya Tideman). As with the previous compilations, Now consists of fresh tunes from emerging artists that we think deserve a platform, and aims to showcase these tunes to a growing audience.” Jwala hopes that the release will encourage more and more women producers and musicians to be a part of what maybe perceived as a slightly intimidating ‘boys’ club’. “We wanted to reach out to women to help us start balancing out participation. Sometimes seeing a gender skew in any field can give people the impression that male heavy groups are unapproachable for women but this compilation was our way of saying that male or female, we don’t care. Give us great music and that’s about it,” the collective told Rolling Stone India.

So press play–the compilation starts off real smooth with Vancouver-based RDKL’s Deadpan In Van, seamlessly transitioning to the more groovy single ‘You’re Not So Wise Now’ from lawyer-turned-singer-songwriter, Aditi Ramesh. Gaya Tideman’s ‘Undress’ is evocative of a happy summer afternoon, and they go out with a bang with producer Heedless’ tè amanhà.

A tribute to inclusivity in the truest sense of the word, Jwala’s ‘Now’ celebrates talented Indian female musicians who are becoming a part of the country’s burgeoning independent music landscape.

Listen to the compilation here.

Artwork by Himanshu Tokas for Jwala.

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