MUSIC

Raka recognises how music and activism have always gone hand in hand, and the fact that music is one of the most powerful tools one can use to fight social injustices isn’t lost on the outspoken producer.

“It’s no secret that these are dark and scary times, and people who speak their minds and ask for justice are silenced, while looters roam free. In one way or another, the people we worked with refuse to get used to the violence and vulgar disparity around. Instead, they choose to create conscious culture.”

From veteran music labels to more recent DIY crop ups, it’s always raining releases when you know just the collectives to watch out for. We’ve sifted through the offerings for you and rounded up the record labels and music collectives making waves in recent times, genre no bar.

India’s music space has gained momentum over the past ten years in a way that was probably hard to predict at the outset. Our neighbouring countries of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan have similarly been evolving fast, with pioneering producers stepping up to take the helm and drive it decisively forward.

Bangladesh’s young musicians have been slowly working towards creating an imprint of their own in the South Asian music space, and while the genres of trance, dubstep, metal and house music enjoy a special popularity, there is a post-internet generation of overwhelmingly young producers (in their teens) who are treading into relatively more nuanced sub-genres.

​“Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” ― Howard Zinn

A glance back at the last two years alone should suffice in throwing up dozens of protests that have taken place in our country. Art and protest have a long, torrid history with censorship always just kept at bay. An anomaly, you would think, in a democratic state.

Despite the fear-mongering and the piecing apart, live music and live musicians in India are experiencing opportunities in this industry like never before. The burgeoning independent music scene of India today would not have been possible without venues whose approach to programming was progressive enough to accommodate new and evolving sounds. 

Bass music and nostalgia might seem like they make for unlikely bedfellows, but taking a look over the last two decades – you can’t help but take a moment to admire the aural revolution that is India’s bass culture. 

Rainbowbass is a term that I came up with to describe the music I love. Everything I listen to and play has so many different colours and you realise it’s all connected to each other – like the colours in a rainbow. All the grooves, BPMs and energy levels - that’s a beautiful thing to me. 

Known as Vincent Fenton to his friends, the artist took out a minute to speak to Homegrown from the Indian Embassy in Paris as he wrapped up travel formalities ahead of his Asia tour, and as strains of Indian classical echo in the background, he tells us a little bit about his story.