New Music: Kanika Patawari, Aanya, Electrik-Pô, Screetus and More

“Aise Kaise” by Kanika Patawari

Indo-Belgian singer-songwriter Kanika Patawari takes the understated slinky guitar and bass route for despairing song “Aise Kaise.” The Hindi song allows Patawari to navigate her emotions in the wake of an “unexpected and hurtful” action from someone close to her.

“Nákṣatra” by Rohit H. Sivaram ft Prasanna, Mohini Dey, Rohith Jayaraman, Anup Sastry

Indo-American guitarist and composer Rohit H. Sivaram calls on some serious heavyweight instrumentalists for his new single “Nákṣatra,” a soul-searching Tamil song featuring vocalist Rohith Jayaraman as well as Carnatic guitar veteran Prasanna, bassist Mohini Dey and drummer Anup Sastry. The result is a dexterous five and a half minutes that’s not so much about showing off as it is about soulful songwriting.

“Vibora” by The Second Fovea

Mumbai-origin metal act The Second Fovea’s rattling new single “Vibora” comes after a few years of featuring guest vocalists to now having a permanent growler at the front. That role is now filled by Dublin-based, New Delhi-origin Lalit Mehta (part of bands like metallers Kaihon) who warns about how all that glitters is not gold. The greed for gold can in fact can lead you to the Golden Lancehead Vipers, a type of snake found exclusively on an island off the Brazilian coast.

Retrograde EP by Aanya

Chennai singer-songwriter Aanya emerges from a time of her life marked by loss and heartbreak with a newfound wisdom on her debut EP Retrograde. Produced by Harshan Radhakrishnan aka Honeymoonhenny and featuring guitars from Abhinav Krishnaswamy (both from indie rockers The F16s), Aanya navigates sadness, relief and peace with plenty of pop culture references, like on “nineteen seventy five” and the country-folk “fatal!” inspired by the likes of Taylor Swift, that’s certainly heard on songs like “moon song” and “the first shot.”

“Jagmagaate Shehar” by Kanoo Sahajwala

The author and poet Premchand Sahajwala is given a tender tribute by his son, New Delhi-bred composer and producer Kanoo Sahajwala on his debut single “Jagmagaate Shehar.” Also featuring Chaitanya Deshpande, the artist – who is currently based in Columbus, Indiana – takes a modern sonic approach to the ghazal format with piano, synth and guitars to gently go over ruminations from lyrics written by Sahajwala senior.

“Paperthin” by Nick Alexander

London-based artist Nick Alexander gathers his thoughts about vulnerable moments and vows to stay resilient on “Paperthin,” his latest single. Inspired by the likes of Foo Fighters and more, there’s a marked alt rock journey that the artist takes us on, one that’s heavier than his more acoustic-leaning prior releases like “Human” and “Shadows.”

Wake Up by Electrik-Pô

French group ElectriK-Pô is the “flagship group” from the label, Free Monkey Records. Comprising multi-instrumentalist Florent Silve, Indian-origin drummer-producer Arfaaz Kagalwala aka Fuzzylogic and trumpeter Martin Saccady, their debut album Wake Up takes listeners to the intersection of jazz, electronic music and a good amount of groove. It’s an immersive listen that’s clearly been crafted by a form of communication that the trio have honed. Artist Jasleen Aulakh arrives as a collaborator on “West Voices,” her Punjabi vocals spurring on more Indian folk percussive elements for an exuberant song.

“Saanjh” by House of Tuneman

New Delhi producer-DJ House of Tuneman aka Karan Dhingra digs into chill vibes on “Saanjh.” Unlike his previous single “Bombay Bustle” which matched the pace of the urban hustle, “Saanjh” is more intended for relaxing, with fusion elements like the Dilruba, flute and tabla coming together with classical vocals that also aims to convey a festive mood.

“Machine Elves” by Fruitsalaax

Kerala guitarist-composer Sanju Alex – part of bands like metallers Shadow Puppets and fusion act Kelvikkuri – kicks off his solo project Fruitsalaax with a delightfully mind-bending debut song called “Machine Elves.” There’s plenty of prog action along with math rock for fans of Polyphia, CHON and others to keep count of.

“Through the Mirror” by Screetus, Amy Khazaadoor

Bengaluru prog/art rock band Screetus team up with vocalist Amy Khazaadoor for their lamentful new song “Through the Mirror,” part of their second album, Into the Ether. The eight-minute song has all the makings of a goth-inspired, dark progressive rock, one that they’ve imprinted with singles like “Slipstream” and “Alone” from the album so far.