Exclusive Premiere: Inalab Addresses Racism on Latest Track ‘Dreams’

While being extremely influenced by R&B and funk music, New Delhi bassist Gaurav Balani aka Inalab was astonished to learn of the discrimination African-American artists faced when he came across a documentary about Motown musicians. He says, “[I learned about] artists not being allowed to be on the cover of their own album to make sure white people didn’t know they were buying music which was created by African-American people or the fact that audiences were segregated into whites and blacks during concerts.” Now, the bassist is speaking out against racism on his newest Inalab track, the hip-hop leaning and synth heavy “Dreams.”

Apart from Balani, “Dreams” features New Delhi musicians drummer Suyash Gabriel (from alternative electronica outfit Komorebi), Harshit Misra on synth bass (from electro funk group DCF_Shapes) and rapper Moulik Siddarth. On his collaborators, Balani says, “I saw him [Siddarth] do a free style rap at a friend’s party [and] he literally highlighted all the social issues of our country in a five-minute rant which was just off the top of his head. I requested him to come to my studio to collaborate on this song.” Balani also states that he was taken aback with the level of energy Gabriel brought to the track and that his parts gave a “call and response” approach between the drums and vocals. “Harshit was the last addition to the song and he was very instrumental in bringing that raw synth bass sound,” says Balani.

“Dreams” has a bouncy flow which mainly stems from Siddarth’s unique delivery while the groove blends in smoothly over the recurring synth sections in the song. The splendid synth solo towards the end of the track which has been programmed by Balani stands out for its gradual climb and melodic approach. The song has been self-produced by Balani and mastered by Keshav Dhar (from prog band Syharbor). The accompanying video ”“ directed by videographer Abhinav Kakkar and edited by Ansh Vohra ”“ showcases the artists while they were tracking the song. Balani says, “The essence of the song is the energy that was to be portrayed by the musicians while they were recording their parts.”

Next, Balani has plans to release two more singles as Inalab and even put out an album later this year. Right now the bassist’s main focus is to do a lot more touring. He says, “Inalab has essentially been a studio project due to my other musical commitments but this year I’m going to make a conscious effort to go live more often and perform this music across various venues.”

Watch the music video for “Dreams” below: