Hear Chrms’ Breathtaking Debut EP ‘Lover Boy’
The 18-year-old Mumbai producer calls in singer-songwriters such as Jordan Johnson and Sabu to lend their airy voices across seven tracks
Mumbai-based producer Chrms aka Veer Kowli will perform at The Sxene 2.0. Photo: Manan Parekh/Courtesy of Krunk
There’s an unmistakable air of chill and ease on Mumbai producer Veer Kowli aka Chrms’ debut EP Lover Boy, which released on June 10th. Chrms smooths in with the opening four-minute track “Jadu” and then dreams vividly on “Mind” with singer-songwriter Sabu, while turning to chill-hop with Jordan Johnson on the guitar-friendly “¿?.”
The 18-year-old producer has always had a voice to guide his songs, most notably on 2017’s “Heart Rates,” featuring Indian-American artist Zoya, which racked up over 200,000 SoundCloud streams. Kowli says about vocal collaborations, “I look at vocal features as an additional instrument completing the song — but the reason why this instrument is unique is because I don’t have control over it in terms of the end result, which is always exciting to see.”
Chrms offers more hip-hop leanings than ever before on Lover Boy, moving beyond his obsession with producers like Flume. He cites alternative pop artists such as Jadu Heart and Homeshake, as well as lo-fi producer-singer Joji as influences this time around. “Bone Soda,” for example, is a club-ready banger, buoyed by rapper Rae Mulla (from Mumbai hip-hop crew Sixk). But then Kowli samples and chops up his own vocals to make it indistinct on the melancholic “What I Want.”
The title track leaps up with its fuzzy, bombastic hook, but the producer says he hasn’t changed much even though he’s gone from bedroom producer to club nights across the country. “I try not to let my sound get influenced by the experiences I have on stage with a live audience. I would never want to consciously make something someone else likes hearing. It should come naturally.”
Currently out on his first nationwide tour to promote the record, Chrms performs in Guwahati tonight, followed by stops in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Pondicherry, Shillong and a homecoming set in Mumbai by the end of July. He adds, “We do have a couple of visual surprises in stock for this record, coming out later this year.”
Stream ‘Lover Boy’ EP below. Tour dates here.
