#HGExclusive Release: Midland Sparks' Debut EP 'Rundrum'

Midland Sparks, a solo project by Maitreya Rajurkar (one half of Tripshot Crew), started taking shape almost a year ago, born out of an urge to create and explore an independent and personal musical identity. Treading deep into a multiplicity of genres, Midland Sparks pursues a fresh approach to electronica that takes refuge in latter-day bass music. Think lingering, atmospheric bass-lines, crisp beats and floor-rumbling grooves. With a marked disinterest in producing ‘dancefloor bangers’, the unbridled experiment is fraught with an assortment of tell-tale influences and evolves with every track. Having played with Tripshot Crew (a pioneering bass outfit from Pune) at numerous shows and festivals across the country, Maitreya sheds the new kid-on-the-block status with the avant-garde electronica of Midland Sparks’ debut EP ‘Rundrum’.
Built over the blueprints of drum n bass music, the 3-track EP draws influences from a plethora of genres such as footwork, halfstep, hip hop and trap and dabbles in the 170 BPM tempo bracket, a soundscape that Maitreya discovered after admittedly scrapping a couple of EPs, which he never released, spanning various genres.

Homegrown caught up with Midland Sparks to find out a little bit more:

I) How does your sound diverge from Tripshot Crew’s trademark bass?

TripShot Crew sound has been evolving and heading in a certain direction, which we have had in mind for a while. Midland Sparks sound is simply music that I write independently, which doesn’t fit under the TripShot umbrella! It is a different category of experimental music, however vague that sounds. Do not be surprised to find occasional, uncanny resemblance since I obviously do not have two separate sets of inspiration. I have a very fickle mind when it comes to the genres I want to dapple in, in the future. I can only say that it will be an amalgamation of genres which will appeal to me in the future and will stay away from mainstream EDM. But yes, you will see a lot more bass music coming out as well.

II) When did you start working on this EP, and what was the process like?

I scrapped a couple of EPs with varying genres before settling on Rundrum. I started work on it about 6 -7 months back. There were many bursts of creative work flow and some slacks. One can say that I have kind of a moody approach when it comes to writing music and I completely changed the faces of the songs multiple times. So all in all, it was like an exciting trampoline journey full of crests and troughs!

III) The tracks in the EP are all atmospheric, but are tinkering with different sub-genres. Tell us more about the direction each track explores, and elaborate on the underlying common theme that binds them together?

The EP opens with “Kecak Calling” which is brimming with beats influenced by genres like trap and juke and combined into an experimental tune which has a semi laidback vibe. Dogma is a dark and slow, an evolving half time track. Kingdoom is in my opinion the heaviest track and can definitely pass off as warehouse dancefloor material. All tracks lie in the 170 BPM tempo range and are my attempt at contributing to the new wave of modern and futuristic drum n bass music.

IV) Which are the genres/artists/underground scenes that influenced you the most in the making of this EP?

There are just so many! When it comes to this EP, I was really influenced by the European bass scene. Artists like Hyroglifics, Stray, Sam Binga, Dub Phizix, Skeptical, Lee Bannon, Om Unit, Alix Perez, Enei, Data (Nick Modern), Eprom, Emperor are a few  that come to mind, who have had an impact on my music and are definitely one of the most forward-thinking producers of the time.

V) Tell us a little about your artwork for the EP.

The artwork is entirely done by me. The story goes like - a friend of mine had made an excursion to Turkey and clicked tons of mesmerising pictures of dome ceilings. So I asked for them, edited them on a few iOs apps and Photoshop and created this, which I was very happy with. So I decided to take it forward as my album art!

VI) What, in your opinion, is required for the underground drum n bass scene to really take root in India?

More venues, more festivals, more parties, more blogs which are willing to embrace it. But it’s great to see that it has already made a real imprint in the country with dedicated festivals like Bass Camp etc. who have gotten few of the most underground producers down for really fun gigs!

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