k o k u m Shines on New Synth Offering ‘Back to Light’

After the release of her spoken-word track “Yellow Brick Road” last year, Mumbai-based artist Karishma D’Lima aka k o k u m has dipped her toes in multiple concurrent projects. The musician has been writing delicate material of her own, teaming up with rapper Illastraight for an experimental hip-hop track titled “Sink” and even joining forces with the folks over at the We Stand With Her campaign to sing on the song “Free” for their record that she composed. Now, k o k u m is out with her newest single, the electropop “Back to Light.”

The ethereal song includes influences from Classical Indian music, psychedelic synthwave and folk. The singer’s delightful vocals flow seamlessly over the slick production done by k o k u m herself. D’Lima tells us that she often practices the Buddhist meditation technique of Vipassana, after completing the 10-day Silent Meditation program. She says, “I found myself going deeper into the practice over the course of the first lockdown.” The artist adds, “I believe the lyrics came from there. It was a conversation with myself, a play on the phrase and idea of coming back to life and ultimately, almost serves as a self-guided meditation.”

D’Lima called on board her regular collaborator Joshua Singh (drummer from alt-rockers Spud in the Box) whose drum tracks formed the foundation to the song according to her while she also brought in tabla player Mudra Kumar. “The addition of that organic percussion amidst all the electronic and synthetic sounds totally makes ‘Back to Light,’” says the musician.

As the singer-songwriter preps to release her forthcoming debut EP soon, she’s also been busy with her mum raising ₹55,000 baking cakes to help fund oxygen supplies all over India due to COVID-19. “While I strive to sing about and give voice to many important issues through music, doing my part in this way feels so right. Plus, nothing better than enjoying dessert for a good cause!” says D’Lima.

Stream “Back to Light” below: