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Starting in 2012, Malfnktion has come to be known as an artist with distinctly Indian sounds that jump across genres. A versatile producer, he is known best for the art of sampling. His debut EPs, ‘Hindustani Rascal’ in 2015 and ‘Vote For Worms’ in 2016, garnered universal acclaim for their unique and ingenious sounds. Malfnktion’s pandemic project titled ‘Raaja Beats’ in collaboration with Bangalore-based producer Raka embraced South Indian roots and consisted of a curated selection of 8 edits of iconic songs by film composer and songwriter, Ilaiyaraaja. Now, Malfnktion is back with his newest release.
Toronto-based Aditya Alamuru, popularly known as MALFNKTION, combines his inspirations from found sounds, retro films and Indian instruments and has evolved over several years to create a unique dance music aesthetic. Malfnktion’s art is inherently collaborative, tying in multiple mediums such as video, animation and graphic design to music and live performance. His latest release –– ‘Watch’ is a collaborative effort among the powerful trio of Berlin-based CEE, UK lyricist Rider Shafique and Carnatic singer Shrii.
CEE helped shape bass music in the 2000s until he moved from Vienna to Kuala Lumpur and has been releasing music for more than two decades now.
Prolific lyricist Rider Shafique has numerous Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Dub and Dancehall features to his name, and though they are all instantly recognisable as Shafique creations, they all vary massively in style from minimalist dubstep to full-fledged dancehall tracks.
Carnatic singer Shrii has used her eight years of classical Carnatic vocal training to blend elements of classical Indian vocal harmonies with contemporary electronic grooves.
Bringing in his signature flair, which is a cross between Bollywood and folk, along with hip-hop beats and bass, MALFNKTION imbues the tune with frantic percussion and pulsating chops to push the ‘Gqom’ ( a genre of dance music originating from Durban, South Africa)/dub-techno-inspired heavy-hitter into full-fledged nocturnal club mode. Alamuru says in an interview with The Vibe, “I think my influences in beat-making and production are mostly hip-hop producers from the classic 90’s era in New York to Trip-Hop producers in the UK and France, but my music didn’t feel rooted until I started sampling Indian instruments and sounds.”
The song was released in association with boxout.fm recordings, an independent record label based in Delhi. Their main focus was to boost the underground scene in India and give artists an international platform to express themselves.
With artwork by designer Saima Hussain, it reflects the sound perfectly, with a river of saturated colours being observed over a watchful pair of eyes under a starry sky.
You can check out MALFNKTION’s Instagram here.
You can listen to Watch here.
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