Our roundup this week includes producer Hamza Rahimtula and Carnatic vocalist Dr R. Srikanth’s club-ready crossover, Bengaluru duo The Lucidwake’s anthemic debut EP and Naga singer-songwriter Abdon Mech’s latest, among others
If anyone ever said Indian independent music didn’t push boundaries enough, they need to hear the latest experiments across language, genres and themes. We’re covering exactly that in this edition of Indie Unpacked, including DJ-producer Sartek’s latest folk-house offering, guitarist-composer Karan Khosla’s jazz innovation, Punjabi artist Gxrnoor’s trilingual collab with London singer-songwriter Nicole Blakk and more.
Death By Anjuna – “Al Esh”
Kolkata filmmaker and musician Q, under his moniker Doktorgandu, teams up with Bengaluru-origin producer The Burning Deck aka Sandeep Madhavan create an urgent, intense electronica message for resistance and strength in “Al Esh.” The focus of the Bengali and English lyrics as well as the vertical music video (featuring miniature models of homes on fire, public footage of bombing and shots of the artists) is the ongoing destruction of Palestine. Through a bit of rap and sung hooks, Doktorgandu highlights the machinations that have led to the current state of the disputed territory.
Sartek – “Sufi Tech”
DJ-producer Sartek continues pushing his distinct folk-house sound on his latest single “Sufi Tech,” which samples the legendary qawwali powerhouse Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s vocals on the track “Tumhen Dil Lagi Bhool Jani Paregee” from the Nineties. Sartek deftly balances the dancefloor vibes and also lets Khan’s inimitable vocal prowess shine at different points, crafting a roving track. Sartek says, “I wanted to bring the soul of Sufi music into modern dance culture — whether it’s a packed nightclub, a wedding dance floor, or your late-night drive home. This one is meant to move your body and stir something inside you.”
Ajay Varma – The Fading Room
London-based, India-origin producer and rock artist Ajay Varma is a reminiscent mood on his prog song “The Fading Room.” Bearing the songwriting and composing influence of artists like Porcupine Tree, Steven Wilson and Pink Floyd, the song is regal, electronic and takes on a dark journey. Varma says, “The song is written in a first-person perspective, but it is inspired by real-life experience watching a loved one slip away into the shadows of memory loss. Through soft yet haunting melodies and intimate lyrics, the song paints the quiet tragedy of forgetting like a calendar with days that make no sense, a mirror reflecting a stranger and familiar voices and faces dissolving in the rain.”
Atingkok – “Namaida”
Imphal folk-inspired alternative band Atingkok—who just often end up making heavy music—dive into prog, sludge and djent on their new song “Namaida,” the second track from their upcoming album 2050. With the title translating to “on your face,” it’s a damning indictment of the corruption among those in power and raises a question of resistance. In the music video directed by the band’s Pa Thawan along with filmmaker and director of photography, Tushar Nongthombam, a visceral story of a beaten down individual (portrayed by Surjit Nongmeikapam) plays out over stomping, wiry riffs. The band said in a statement, “This is the voice of the people who won’t disappear. A collective memory turned electric. We don’t whisper. You’ll feel it — on your face.”
The Lucidwake – Whiteout EP
Bengaluru rock band The Lucidwake have been steadily releasing singles since 2023 and now, with their latest single “Root N Ash,” they’ve rounded out their debut EP Whiteout and already announced their next project, a full-length album called Blackout. This four-track EP, for its part, establishes their penchant for anthems, with “Root N Ash” having quieter moments alongside scorching solos. “Bleed” is a driving, fiery and cathartic track, while “Through Mars” is aptly spacey and “Don’t Stop” a synth-infused tip of the hat to Eighties prog. The band says in a statement, “When you listen to this record, we want you to know that you can survive anything,” Vihaa shares “I needed the music to save me. It’s how I carved myself out of a dark spot. It has the wickedness. It has the self-rediscovery. It also keeps my faith intact. I hope all the Lucids [fans] see themselves in it.”
The Jass B’stards, Jeet Thayil – “The Haunts”
Few bands can distill the hypnotic energy of their live performances into a studio performance like New Delhi-origin act The Jass B’stards. Their latest song “The Haunts” is testament to that, steady rhythms building and melting away over eerie guitars and keys, topped off by poet-musician Jeet Thayil’s unmistakable spoken-word poetry. From a telepathic ginger cat to illicit substances, there’s striking visual imagery evoked by Thayil, and if that wasn’t enough, the band’s Stefan Kaye cuts together footage from films from the 1920s for a haunting 10-minute offering. Particularly, the track’s atmosphere was complemented largely by 1926 Japanese silent film A Page of Madness. “Our collaborations with Jeet have always been an inspiring journey into the depths of language and sound. His words have a musicality of their own,” Kaye says. Thayiladds, “‘The Haunts’ is occult allegory, a prayer against nightmare, a talisman, some old invocation to raise the dead.”
Abdon Mech – “Noye Lhokuthu Iwu”
Fresh from his trip to Budapest for a songwriting camp earlier this year, Nagaland singer-songwriter Abdon Mech has released his first song of 2025 called “Noye Lhokuthu Iwu” in the Sumi Naga tongue. There’s a gentle, nostalgic synth-pop touch to the track, driven by Mech’s comforting, romantic lyrics. He says in a statement, “There’s always been a very folk touch to the way songs have been sung/written in the Sumi Naga language. I wanted to challenge that and for the first time, give it a touch of indie pop to our beautiful language.” The song is taken from his upcoming second EP, Not Overthinking This.
Gxrnoor – “Sonya”
It’s well-documented now that Punjabi pop has gone global and the likes of singer-songwriter Gxrnoor aka Gurnoor Anand is getting to work capitalizing on the movement. She teams up with London singer-songwriter Nicole Blakk for “Sonya,” a short but punchy Afrobeats-inspired song where the Indian artist sings in Punjabi, while Blakk delivers her lines in English, French and even hops into Punjabi. Produced by veteran Indian pop producer Harry Anand (Gxrnoor’s father), “Sonya” wraps together everything for a memorable pop tune. Gxrnoor says in a statement, “This song dives deep into the enchanting feeling of being completely infatuated and deeply in love, exploring how one can become wonderfully captivated for life.”
Mahima Sogani – “Haapus Ke Aam”
Dressed in an appropriately yellow summer dress, singer-songwriter Mahima Sogani gets her bicycle out at dawn and seeks to slow down and live her life outside of the pressures of the rat race in Mumbai for “Haapus Ke Aam.” An endearing pop song that intertwines metaphors of a mango’s ripeness (and rawness) with one’s preparedness in life, Sogani has an infectious, cheery energy in the song and video. “It’s about embracing the duality within us—our inner mango, ripe and tangy all at once,” she says in a statement.
Hamza Rahimtula, Dr R. Srikanth – “Mihai”
DJ-producer Hamza Rahimtula’s “Mihai” starts out in a fairly expected way with house elements, but it’s when vocalist Dr. R. Srikanth’s konnakol vocals kick in along with deep mridangam rhythms that the six-and-a-half-minute track actually kicks off. The producer takes listeners in and out of these elements, plus varied vocal and flute samples. Rahimtula—who released his album Origins with Rajasthani Folkstars earlier this year—calls working with Srikanth a “transformative experience.” He adds, “The track is a true East-meets-West journey. Dr. Srikanth’s energy and mastery of rhythm took the music to another level. We aimed to create something deeply rooted in tradition yet built for the dancefloor, and I think we’ve captured that.” Srikanth adds, “Working with Hamza allowed me to bring Carnatic vocals into a completely new context.”
Arashka, Sukanya – Shakti, Vol. 2 EP
Reunion Island artist Arash Khalatbari aka Arashkha teams up with Indian vocalist-producer Sukanya Chattopadhyay for a multi-lingual project called Shakti, Vol. 2 that reaches across music traditions and instruments as well. The three-track EP is diverse, with “Zamin” offering mystique and percussive power, plus Lithuanian vocalists Viltė Ambrazaitytė and Laurita Peleniute performing traditional Sutartine and shamanic chants. “Mahtab” is more melancholic and “Panjasseman” delves in ambient electronic layers. “This album is the result of a meeting of two souls,” says Arashkha. “I am happy to have met Sukanya; she feels like family to me, like a sister. We found we had a lot in common.”
“The approach of these experimental tracks has a very surreal sensation,” Sukanya says. “We’re trying to capture unfelt realities and collective inspiration from poets like Tagore, Joydeb, and Abru Shah Mubarak. It’s not about a new vision, but about asking: ‘What if?’”
Karan Khosla – “Written In The Weather”
Goa-based guitarist-composer and educator Karan Khosla is releasing three new songs in the coming months and the first of them—“Written In The Weather—carries with it an exuberant energy. Featuring trumpeter Michael Kobetz, drummer Santiago Ortolá, Diego Soldi on upright bass and pianist Santiago Outes on piano, Khosla’s focused yet carefree guitar playing weaves in and out of the spotlight on this new song. “This one started as a riff buried in a voice memo—now it’s a full-on groove tune meant to lift you out of your monsoon mood. It came to life across time zones, with friends from Argentina, Spain, and Ukraine locking in on the feel; like we were in the same room,” says Khosla.
Jashan Bhumkar – “Megh Malhar (Baadal Ghumad Ke Aaye)”
The monsoons may be on their way out, but there are still plenty of songs that invoke the rains. Classically-trained singer Jashan Bhumkar’s “Megh Malhar (Baadal Ghumad Ke Aaye)” thankfully goes beyond the usual brief of an ode to the rains, although it does romanticize the setting. There’s cinematic electronic shades by composer Amarabha Banerjee and producer Anubhav Gogoi. Bhumkar says in a statement, “This song was born from the feeling that rains don’t just change the skies, they change something within you. Megh Malhar is my reflection of that inner shift, wrapped in melody.”
Vipul Panchal – “School Ki Yaadein”
Singer, composer and producer Vipul Panchal carries forward the innocent and wholesome charm from his band Folk Masti into his solo song “School Ki Yaadein.” In between the simple strums and melodies and singalong vocal harmonies, Panchal sings about the evergreen memories of his school days, hoping to hark back to a simpler time. He says, “Let this song ‘School Ki Yaadein’ carry you back to those golden moments—full of laughter, love, nostalgia and innocence. A journey through childhood, a celebration of friendship, and above all, a tribute to a mother’s silent sacrifices and unconditional love.”