OAFF And Landslands Collaborate on Nostalgic New Single ‘Youth’

During the midst of the pandemic, Ahmedabad-bred and Mumbai-based producer Kabeer Kathpalia aka OAFF decided to call up composer/singer-songwriter Sohrab Nicholson aka Landslands (whom he’s a fan of) on a whim, to see if the latter was interested in collaborating. Kathpalia says, “Thankfully he said he really liked my music.” At the time, OAFF was working on newer sonic elements to his tunes that he sent to Landslands. Kathpalia explains that it was returned with “beautiful vocals” by Nicholson which has now developed into the just-released lush single “Youth.”

While OAFF stitches together luxuriant soundscapes and percussive modulations through the track, Landslands dug into old letters and photographs he found at his home as inspiration for lyrics. Nostalgia kicked in and both artists shared stories about their grandparents and childhood. “When I sat to write the words, it felt as though I was writing a letter to my past; to myself. So, in essence, the song is like a diary entry,” says Nicholson.

“Youth” has also been given a visual by filmmaker Rahul Datta from Starving Artist Films. Unable to shoot in India during the lockdown, Datta reached out to some of his favorite videographers and photographers across the world and asked them to shoot footage he could use. “Rahul put it all together beautifully. The funniest part about all this is that I still haven’t met Rahul or any of the people involved in the video even once. It’s truly been a virtual collaboration from across the world,” says Kathpalia.  

OAFF has more collaborations with singers in the pipeline and plans on dropping one every month. As for Landslands, he too is plotting a few releases of his own for early next year. The pair also want to continue working together and Kathpalia says, “We already have two more ideas that are in the works which we are really excited about.”

Watch the music video for “Youth” below and stream the song here.