Watch Mumbai Artist OAFF’s Trippy New Video for ‘Perpetuate’
Electronic-pop producer Kabeer Kathpalia teams up with filmmaker Karan Vaidya for his stargazing song
Artwork based on Mumbai electronic pop producer OAFF's new music video 'Perpetuate.' Art: Kabeer Kathpalia and Karan Vaidya
It was in September 2018 that Mumbai-based producer, composer and guitarist Kabeer Kathpalia aka OAFF released his debut single “For A While,” which now stands at over a million streams on Spotify. If you’ve never heard of him, it’s never too late to start.
Slowly building up his name in the commercial and independent music space, Kathpalia has produced for brands as well as shows such as Inside Edge. Following “For A While,” songs like “Frontline” and “Lonely Heart” showcased the producer’s affinity for soulful electronic music with female vocals at the front, mirroring electronic artists like The xx. Earlier this year, Kathpalia furthered that with “Heavy Headed,” featuring Mumbai vocalist Ambika Nayak aka Kayan.a, who also features in a fun filled music video.
With this latest song “Perpetuate,” however, OAFF dives into an instrumental trippy piano-led electronic jam that swells cinematically. For the video, he teamed up with filmmaker Karan Vaidya to create a surreal, effect-heavy collection of clips that sync perfectly, capturing stretching visuals of carnival wheels, sunsets and cityscapes. Inspired by visual artist Gerhard Richter’s work at a concert that featured composing great Steve Reich’s music in New York, Kathpalia teamed up with Vaidya and discussed the idea with his longtime collaborator. Kathpalia says about the New York concert he’d seen, “The video was just an hour of lines – different colored lines dancing and mesmerizing the viewer. I was captivated by its simplicity and beauty.”
While it’s certainly modern in its sonic production, “Perpetuate” originated from a beat up old piano Kathpalia came across during his travels through the U.S. He says, “I started messing around with these beautiful cluster chords that were really dissonant and tense. During this period, I also fascinated by old tape loops and the texture of things that sound old and distorted. So, this old detuned piano made these sound even more alive and interesting to me.” The track is taken from OAFF’s upcoming six-track debut EP Feeling Is Thinking, which is being released track by track.
Watch the video for “Perpetuate” below. Stream the song here.
