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Hear Electronica Duo Time Machine’s Refreshing Debut EP ‘Around The Corner’

The New Delhi pair’s three-track might technically be an electronic EP, but it showcases its creators’ singer-songwriter backgrounds

Oct 16, 2017

Though Time Machine's EP falls into the electronic genre, listeners will instantly recognize the singer-songwriterly approach behind the tracks. Photo: Mohit Kapil

New Delhi musicians Tarun Balani and Chayan Adhikari first met in 2005, when they were both in New Delhi fusion band Advaita. Balani left the group to study at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Upon returning to Indian shores in 2011, he went on to form his jazz project, Tarun Balani Collective, which later became The Next Collective, and consisted of a large lineup of musicians, including his former bandmate Adhikari and New Delhi vocalist Vasundhara Vee. “It was just logistically not working out with the previous collective because there were too many people in the band,” says Balani. Since he and Adhikari were the only composers and songwriters in the group, it made sense to the pair to split off and form a duo. The pair started working together as Time Machine last summer, and have now released their three-track debut, an electronic EP titled Around The Corner.

Although the EP falls into the electronic genre, listeners will instantly recognize the singer-songwriterly approach behind the tracks. “Neither of us comes from the electronic background per se,” says Adhikari. “I have always been coming from a point of view as a singer-songwriter.” The theme of the EP, the pair explain, is about how both of them have moved forward musically. “I hope we have pleasantly surprised people with this new project,” says Balani. 

The opening song on the EP, “WYGWYG,” is an acoustically driven track which blends electronic sounds with strong vocal sections. “’WYGWYG’ [What you give is what you get] is probably a song that is just reflecting upon our childhood, looking into a simple concept of carrying forward dreams and aspirations,” says Balani. The record then simmers down in tempo with “Interlude,” which is a soft track filled with ambient sounds. “[This song is] partly inspired where we live, Delhi, I remember when we were writing it, that whole pollution thing was doing the rounds,” says Adhikari. “It presents a very dystopian and disturbed idea to begin with but then it latches on to this idea that you know there is still hope to improve change.” The final track on the record, “Stranger,” is much more groove-based and dance friendly. “’Stranger’ talks about ourselves in the future,” says Adhikari.

Around The Corner was self-produced and recorded at both Balani’s home studio and Adhikari’s home studio. Balani cites Mumbai musician Rohan Ramanna (one half of electronica duo LANDS, previously known as Nicholson) as a key contributor to the sound of the EP. “He really took the music to the next level,” says Balani. The record was mixed by Ramanna and then sent to Alchemy Studios in London for mastering. 

The duo has music videos in the pipeline for both “WYGWYG” and “Interlude,” which are slated to be released before the end of this year. Also in the works is an EP release launch tour in November. “The plan right now is to get the music out there, we haven’t stopped writing. The idea is to get as many gigs, play around the country and play some festivals too,” says Adhikari. 

Stream  ‘Around The Corner’ below. Buy the EP on OKListen.

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