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While Bollywood is the reigning genre in the clubs and bars of our country, a slew of independent and diverse genres are thriving with the rise of an audience that expects more from the Indian music scene. From Mdboy/Mink to Hamza to the eclectic and unique sounds of 26-year-old Nanok to the classically trained pianist turned future-garage and IDM producer Sandunes, a slew of brilliant musicians are embedding our identity and unique sound to the larger scape of electronic music. Here’s one such genre-bending artist who fuses temporal jazz tunes with permeable electronic beats to create a sound that embodies the best of such a duality.
March 2020 – One of the finest jazz drummers in India, Tarun Balani explores electronic music in his solo project, Seasonal Affected Beats. Referring to what he does as ‘improvised electronic music’, as Seasonal Affected Beats, he brings the finesse, controlled volatility and discipline of jazz, and merges it with the malleability of electronic beats. Imagined as a trans-media electronic project that was launched in 2018, Seasonal Affected Beats sees Tarun make music through the prism of his reality, formed by his experiences of the world around him. Themes like mental health, climate change, rapid urbanization, socio-political issues and digital existentialism play on his mind and find their way into his lush and tactile productions that pulse with emotions.
2 ° (2 degrees), his new EP, releases on March 13. It’s the musical output outcome of his thoughts and experiences of living in a “dystopic, apocalyptic world” (read, Delhi’s pollution levels) and the impending dangers of climate change. The name, 2 ° (2 degrees), in fact, comes from the Paris Agreement. The album also features a collaborative song ‘Let the light In’ with Kavya Trehan, a renowned name in the electronic music space. It talks about healing through pain and suffering. The song ‘Prelude’ – released as the first single off the EP on March 6 - introduces the listener to the sonic landscape of the EP, from spacey and minimal, to complex and disorderly. The wide range of tones accommodated in his music demonstrate a sound that refuses to fit into the archetype of one particular theme or sound.
Apart from the compositions and the production, the EP also marks Balani’s debut as a trumpeter and pianist on the title track 2° – intended to be a comment on our changing environment, drawing influence from the climate change movement – and emotionally significant for Balani.
“For me as an artist, I truly became the narrative rather than seeking one. I simply had no choice as I felt compelled, and even respond to depict this through my music and art,” says Balani of the inspiration to compose the EP.
“The music of 2° (2 degrees) is composed like a suite, with each piece leading into the other and to be considered as separate movements within the suite,” he adds.
“The theme song is written for Naima, my three-year-old niece, and I wanted this to be a tribute or gift for her. I want to be able to tell her that I was talking about important issues back in the day too and that I was thinking about her and our collective futures – even through our music and art”, he further says.
Topical and pertinent, the track ‘Dr. Escher’ samples a passage of powerful words from a speech that Dr BR Ambedkar made in the Constituent Assembly on 17 December 1946.
“So far as the ultimate goal is concerned, I think none of us need have any apprehensions. None of us need have any doubt. Our difficulty is not about the ultimate future. Our difficulty is how to make the heterogeneous mass that we have to-day take a decision in common and march on the way which leads us to unity.”
“Prejudice in the form of racism, sexism, and casteism continues to reside in our subconscious. It finds a place in popular discourse and unfortunately influences both words and actions that come from a position of privilege, entitlement, and ignorance. These words, and the ideals they espouse, are timeless, especially in this time when we need to counter these biases and the threat they continue to pose to society,” Balani says.
Homegrown loves the narrative behind these sounds and the high level of skill and emphasis on collaboration and derivation separates Balani’s sound from others of its kind.
2 ° (2 degrees) was released on Apple Music on March 13.
You can stream the album here.
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