Video: SETI X + Janaka Selekta

LA rapper Mandeep Sethi, who takes the stage name SETI X, took us by surprise earlier this year when he fit right into Karsh Kale’s “Peekaboo,” a jazzy, slow burner that featured on the second season of Coke Studio@MTV. Sethi jammed with the likes of drummer Jai Row Kavi, vocalists Apeksha Dandekar and Benny Dayal and guitarist Warren Mendonsa on “Peekaboo,” which turned out to be a seamless collaboration given the diverse elements that made it to the track including a sitar section by Ravi Chary. 

Last month, Sethi released the video for “Mobilize,” yet another inspiring collaboration with Janaka Selekta, one half of the San Francisco/Mumbai-based electronica group, Gods Robots. “Mobilize” has some sitar, tablas and sarangi too, but it’s the mix that really impressed us; the crowd-pleasing bass growls and slaps are loud enough to get the floor going, but never overpower Sethi’s rhymes.

But the video directed by Odell Hussy, who has worked with Sethi in the past, offers nothing new. The fast cuts and split second close-ups may correspond to Sethi’s lines “The erratic is mind creative fine/But action leads to great design/Information overloading and my Patience/Is controlling my emotional response to how we focus/,” but cry out for change of pace and technique. We also wished the location ”“ Endless Canvas Special Delivery Warehouse ”“ an artist hub and exhibit space in Oakland had been put to better use. There’s some terrific graffiti in there that may have just worked for Sethi’s lines, but focusing on one graffiti ends up making it an ad for Lady Karma, the visual artist who worked on the video.

 Watch “Mobilize” below