Exclusive Premiere: Chillwave Artist Cowboy and Sailor Man’s Multi-Hued ‘Flying Colours’

You can tell a lot about a producer from their relationship with their computer. For Mumbai-based Apurv Agrawal, there’s fair amount of trust. When asked about when his chillwave/synthwave project Cowboy and Sailor Man came to life, he says, “I couldn’t remember exactly when I started calling my solo project Cowboy And Sailor Man so I looked through my computer and the date on the folder says Jan 2013. So yeah.”

It was only after completing his course at McNally Smith College of Music in Minnesota in 2015 that Agrawal ”“ who has worked hardcore band Death By Fungi and is part of young electronic collective Jwala ”“ started releasing music.

His latest EP Closet Dancer, which released in May, is a delicate, almost nostalgic wave of ambient, chillwave and a hint of rock. Agrawal says he’s not necessarily inspired by chillwave frontrunners like Toro Y Moi or Neon Indian, though. He says, “Most of the music I was listening to and influenced by at the time wasn’t even remotely close to chillwave or synthwave. Washed Out, Wild Nothing, College and The Cure would be a few artists that did quite directly influence the sound of the EP though.”

The vibrant, layered guitars, pitch-shifting synths all over Agrawal’s wispy vocals is what makes songs like “Flying Colours” an uplifting listen. When the beat kicks in video-maker Ross McEwen (a visual artist friend of Agrawal from his music school days) works in a warm melange of hues.

Although he’s got a gig with emo band Little Whales coming up on August 3rd, as part of multi-genre gig series Generation WHY, Cowboy and Sailor Man will perform later in September with Jwala in Pune. He adds, “I want to focus on expanding my audience and so I’m working towards a tour of tier 2 cities in India for later this year. Also in the works is a full length that i hope to put out early next year.”

Featured image by Tanmay Jones Chakraborty.