Prepare for a heatwave in Kochi.
An electronic music showcase, ‘Heatwave’, will be organised by Kekao, a local underground music collective. Launched at the Kochi Muziris Biennale in January, 2019, Kekao brought to the city electronic artistes playing experimental music at its maiden event.
In the second edition, which begins on February 7, the line-up is longer and includes leading EDM artistes such as Sanaya Ardeshir, XCPT, a record label from Italy and home-grown talent such as The Derelicts (band), Stalwart John and DJ Obscuit.
“The event will offer two different experiences,” says Navath Rahin, the founder of Kekao. While the opening day, February 7, will focus on experimental and ambient music, the second day will play European EDM—techno and electro.
Delikwe and Nothus, artistes who played in the last edition are back this year, and will be joined by Marco Segato and Cem3340, who are also part of XCPT.
“The electronic music scene is developing fast in Kochi and we have been receiving great responses,” says Navath. Kekao has completed five gigs in less than a year. A team of five people, Kekao brings artistes to the city, programmes the event and promotes underground artistes by giving them a platform.
“There are a number of talented artistes pushing their own brand of music. We also promote street culture and new music trends,” says Navath.
The event will be held on February 7 and 8 at Pepper House, Fort Kochi.
‘My music is emotional’
Sanaya Ardeshir, who calls herself Sandunes, will be headlining the show on day one, presenting her ‘Hand of Thought’, a piano-based project, which explores the possibilities of the piano, and new experiments in orchestration. Incubated for over two years between Mumbai, Berlin and London, the project would be Sanaya’s special showcase. A Mumbai-based producer, composer and synth player, Sanaya musical influences are drawn from jazz, dubstep and London electronica with South Asian influences.
Excerpts from an interiew with Sanaya.
You have been inspired by jazz to rock, funk and blues. How would you define your music?
These days I’m thinking about my music (and all music) as “emotional”— and I'm trying to be mindful about creating work that moves people on a very basic, human level.
I think we live in an extremely exciting time, and although technology and social media has made it so easy to stay tapped in to what’s going on and draw inspiration from sub-cultures in far away parts of the world, it has also become scary how much those same tools pose threats to our mental health, and tendencies towards connection and community. In that light, I feel like it’s become increasingly important to make music that brings people closer to their emotional selves in some way or the other.
What are you working on currently?
Currently I’m working on some new music which features several different vocalists and I’m exploring the idea of bringing different disciplines, languages, and modalities of music-making together. I’m feeling inspired to create after a bit of a slump, and that has pointed me in a new direction of song-writing that’s influenced by Carnatic music and even some Bollywood.
Which city has influenced your music more, Mumbai or London?
Initially and when I was only just beginning, I was super inspired by what was happening in London.. That's probably because I was super thirsty for knowledge, inspiration and new sounds and there was a limited range of what was happening locally. But more recently Mumbai has influenced a lot of my ideas around identity, belonging, and the role music needs to play - in a social context - especially in the current political climate - to bring people together in a manner that's inclusive and non-violent.
What are your musical plans for the future? Any new collaborations in the offing?
My musical plans are a bit polarised at the moment - I'm trying to stay focused on the current ideas so I can explore them in depth and retain a commitment to a certain approach and style within the music making process. And at the same time, I’m planning to explore sounds from new geographies and traditions and I'm keen to dip my toes into terrain that's completely new to me.
How do you see your audience? Has the culture of music appreciation changed in India?
I believe so. I see my audience as informed, engaged, and thoughtful about what they’re consuming.