Exclusive Premiere: OX7GEN’s Mercurial New Drum and Bass Cut ‘Kodachrome Sky’

After more than a decade in the Indian music space as drummer and producer-DJ OX7GEN, Mumbai-bred Aditya Ashok says he’s at the beginning of a new journey with his new track “Kodachrome Sky” releasing on U.K.’s Program, a sister-label for the 25-year strong RAM Records.

Part of Program’s upcoming compilation series Programmed Volume 5, OX7GEN now finds himself working with one of the world’s most sought after record labels. “This is something I’ve been trying to do for years. Releasing music on all these top tier labels has always been number one priority for me,” the producer says. In 2018, he’d already ticked drum and bass label Hospital Records off his list, releasing “Trinity” on their sisterMed School Music. Ashok acknowledges that they’re not releases on the main label, but does feel like it allows him to reach a wider audience of more hardcore drum and bass fans.

For them, on offer is “Kodachrome Sky” – a track that blends tightly-wound frenetic rhythmic work with ebullient melodies. The four-and-a-half-minute song gradually escalates with club-ready energy, something that OX7GEN hadn’t produced recently since the pandemic had prevented that steady source of inspiration. “It’s been hard in the sense of drum and bass being a very club-relevant sound and I haven’t been to a club in a while now.” Written late last year along with at least two other tracks that were pitched to labels, Ashok notes that his favorite part of “Kodachrome Sky” was the “very euphoric and very harsh” mangled up sound he arrived at for the bridge section, which helped give him “new vision” for the track.

Although the production processes are slow at the moment, Ashok says he’s trying out more liquid drum and bass elements since they don’t always connote dancefloor music flavors. While there was a five-track space exploration-themed EP in the works earlier this year, the producer says it will be an audio-visual project. “I’m sitting on that, but want to make sure it’s out with a strong visual element.”

Listen to “Kodachrome Sky” below. The track and ‘Programmed Volume 5’ releases via Program/RAM Records on November 6th.