Dualist Inquiry aka Sahej Bakshi who recently released four new remixes of his song, ‘You&Me’ featuring vocals by Sanchal Malhar has promised to bring in new music to his upcoming performance at Fandom in Bengaluru.
“I have heard this is one of the best new venues in the country, built for performances. These days, I am in the process of writing a lot of new music. Before I release the music, I like to play it at shows,” says the musician who is known for his contributions to India’s electronic music scene.
“Shows are good testing grounds to see the audience response to new music. I will be releasing a lot of new music in the next few weeks and months.”
At the same time, he says, he will also be playing older, more familiar tracks that are ‘reinterpreted for the current day and age’.
‘You&Me’ and its remixes have been released on his label Dualism Records, and feature Bangalore-based DJ and producer, and Consolidate founder, _RHL aka Rahul Giri; Bangalore-based DJ and producer Stalvart John, who is known for his disco sets, Delhi-based electronica producer Curtain Blue and beatmaker Sid Vashi.
“I felt the song offered a good opportunity for remixing. I reached out to these producers because each has his own individual sound. I knew each would bring something special to it.”
The track follows his previous new releases, ‘Mayday’, and ‘Fever Dream’, which have come after a hiatus, and draw from his life experiences.
“I am releasing two more tracks in anticipation of an album next year. The album will focus on the creative process. I feel a lot of the music I am writing should be released as singles, they stand individually. However I do want to release an album that you can listen to from start to finish, like a story. I am also working on the album,” he says.
“When we look back at an experience we had, we normally just remember the feeling, sometimes we remember the specifics of the feeling at a particular time, like the first day of the vacation or the moment we received some difficult news. These feelings stay, I wanted to make a song that makes me feel them again. That’s how I wrote the songs, based on such feelings.”
One of the experiences that are shaping his recent music is that of studying filmmaking at FAMU in Prague. He has also directed the music video for ‘You &Me’, which was shot in his basement and animated by Arushi Kathuria.
“I consider myself a student for life, I just want to keep learning, I love picking up more skills, especially when it comes to creating different kinds of art with music. This is a lifelong pursuit, and I found myself getting more interested in developing the visual side of art and in making my own music videos,” he explains, adding that the ‘You&Me’ video features a fun take on the MTV Videos of the 90s, when he was growing up.
“At that time it used to be the most advanced technology, now you can do it at home,” he points out. “At the school I learned different ways of looking at art, I learnt that abstraction, impressionism, and realism, all of these philosophies do not just apply to filmmaking, they also apply to music. Then I realized that sometimes you can just imply something, and it is as good as saying it.”
His latest tracks, also veer away from his typical style, and more importantly, a heavy guitar influence. “There are many different ways to go about making music. I don’t want to feel like my music is too structured, or too restricted in terms of what I can or can’t do. It was quite a refreshing experiment for me to work on music made without guitars at that point (though the songs do feature some guitar sounds).”
“I just make my own kind of music. I don’t think I fit very neatly into any electronic music genre. It’s a just a bit unpredictable with me, in terms of what comes next. I am not necessarily in sync with the rest of the scene, I do my own thing.”
Dualist Inquiry will be performing in the city on September 21 at Fandom at 1st Floor, Gilly`s Redefined, 100ft Road, Next to Ezone, Opposite Sukh Sagar, Koramangala. Call 09606443393 for details.
