I call them my summer loves. Every time I go on vacation, I find a record that becomes a time capsule for that place and that moment in time. Last year, it was Vampire Weekend’s Contra, a record that I fell in love with while trekking around the green sun-kissed hills of Chail. This time, it was the Dualism EP by rocktronica artist Dualist Inquiry that provided a perfect soundtrack to the placid beauty and breathtaking mountain vistas of Leh.The solo project of New Delhi producer, composer and guitarist Sahej Bakshi, Dualist Inquiry has been turning heads in the indie electronica scene over the past year. He has performed at the Berlin Music Week as well as The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, where he opened for American hip-hop hero DJ Shadow. The four-track Dualism EP is his debut record, a collection of languid, sinuous music that brings to mind the beguiling calm of warm summer afternoons and night-time walks by the sea.
Opener ‘Orbital’ kicks off proceedings with an ambient, laid-back groove and a soulful keyboard loop. A sample of waves breaking on a beach in Goa serves to highlight the fluid quality of the music. ‘Qualia’ is mellow, dream-sequence music with new wave guitar and skittering percussion beats. The track, which takes its name from a Latin word that is used to define subjective experiences, also has a spoken edit with spoken verses by Monica Dogra of Shaa’ir + Func. She paraphrases Daniel Dennett in her faery-like, ethereal voice, infusing the track with a dream-like essence that channels Orpheus himself. The up-tempo, Daft Punk-esque ‘Gravitat’ (which we featured here) is a song that should be as much fun on the dance floor as it is on your headphones. It features an incredibly infectious guitar lick and invokes ESCM-era BT in the way he expertly balances and shifts between musical elements from rock, trance, house and electronica.
Bakshi’s minimalistic guitar-driven aesthetic is a whiff of fresh air in a formulaic and dance floor oriented electronica scene. He jumps between genres with ease, creating delicate, beautiful moodscapes with just a laptop and guitar. His originality and innovation is representative of the increasing maturity and self-confidence of Indian indie. Dualism is a strong statement of intent from a promising young musician. I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
Indiecision: B
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