Watch SundogProject Contemplate Transcendence on ‘All Things Pass’
The music video for the New Delhi/Bengaluru alternative artist’s new single, directed by filmmaker Sam Mohan, mirrors the meditative tone
A promotional still from SundogProject's new video and single 'All Things Pass.' Photo: Courtesy of the artist
New Delhi/Bengaluru producer Rahul Das – who helms SundogProject – says all it took was the last two months to get him to release a new song (the first since 2016’s full-length Tora) and play a gig after nearly two years.
He says about getting back into action with the project, “I’ve been working on an elaborate album, which is the larger picture, called Dawn. All of this is starting the process of releasing music. A lot of the music is composed in my head and arranged as well. A lot of things were in the air, so I wanted to start the process.”
While he’s also been producing IDM/ambient-informed music under the moniker Oort, Das confirms that he never stopped making material for SundogProject. The catalyst for his latest release “All Things Pass,” among other factors, was friend and filmmaker Sam Mohan’s interest in working with Das. “Sam had mentioned that we should do something together and he said he was going to Ladakh, so suddenly everything fell into place. I made him listen to the track and he thought it was perfect for this,” the producer says.
While Das is fully aware of the preconceived ideas and assumptions attached to the sprawling, often desolate landscape of Ladakh, Mohan told him the places would bring out the “thematic elements of the song.” With some footage shot at 5,000 meters above sea level, “All Things Pass” is a sobering audio-visual reflection on transcendence and the transience of life. Using drone cameras as well as wide shots of the landscapes, the video closes with Das lying in a fetal position by a waterbody, over a slow, somewhat melancholic palette of sounds.
The song is reminiscent of some parts of Tora but Das says it wouldn’t make sense labeling all of SundogProject’s sound by this one release. He adds, “The next single might be drastically different, you never know. I have some songs which are half-produced. There are songs that are heavy, very spacey. I’ll just see how it happens.” More singles and music videos are in the pipeline, with another song expected later this year.
Watch the video for “All Things Pass” below.
