Indo-Belgian Artist Kanika Launches Electro-Fusion EP ‘Currents’

Born in Belgium, and now shuttling between Antwerp, Mumbai and Los Angeles, singer and producer Kanika Patawari (who goes by her first name as an artist) walks the line between Indian fusion, Afrobeats and electro-pop on her debut EP Currents. “We’ve used sarangi, sitar, tabla, and dhol sounds to really layer up the music. However, the genres that stand out are strongly international,” she says.

Releasing music since 2019 (when her quietened English pop song “Is It Over Yet” released), Kanika had previously spent about five years earning an undergraduate degree in songwriting and production from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Currents explores the artist’s changing understanding and celebration of her multicultural identity. The EP was preceded by Kanika’s 2021 single “Runak Jhunak” via Warner Music India, which was a Marwari electronic-pop song, drawing from Rajasthani folk traditions. “After the success of ‘Runak Jhunak,’ I wanted to share more music with the new audience I had built, and so, Currents EP was born,” she says.

Featuring production assists from Ysoblue and MO3Z, songs like “Taare” offer a buoyant, club-friendly sound, while “Khone Do” works in sarangi parts for breathy EDM. They’re among the most recent tracks written for the EP which was pieced together as a collection of songs spontaneously rather than intentionally from the start. “It was simply a process of exploring the vibe of that moment,” she adds. “Baawre” leads with a lo-fi guitar line and roomy beats and Kanika’s second Marwari, “Dil Pardesi” returns to dancefloor-centric, euphoric production. “One of my main purposes of releasing this EP was to share this layered identity through multiple songs,” Kanika adds.

Thematically, the artist says she was exploring living in the moment (“Khone Do”), new-found soulmates (“Taare”) and encouraging another to take risks (“Baawre”). She adds, “‘Dil Pardesi’ is a confession of losing your heart to someone. That’s one song where I simply sent over the composition to Ysoblue and he did his magic on the production; and there weren’t any changes after that. His sound designing really lifts the song and makes it stand apart from the rest of my releases.”

In addition to running her own studio Pali House in Mumbai and helming music sustainability platform MusicRecycle, there’s a music video to promote Currents out in Los Angeles, featuring Kanika’s go-to director Ali Hussainy. “This year will see more music from me for sure. Soon after this EP came out, I was right back to my laptop to finish up some songs. I love creating and there’s just so much to share. The plan is to continue this consistently with more sonic experiments and videos to come,” Kanika adds.

Listen to ‘Currents’ EP below. Stream on Spotify, JioSaavn and Apple Music.