Shamon m8,
It's been 2 weeks already! It's been hectic as usual, it seems that's the start of all of our recent newsletters.. Still, there has been a whole bunch of fun stuff happening side by side! Rohit had another spectacular music week, getting the opportunity to watch Zakhir Hussain, Louiz Banks and Gino Banks playing Jazz live, and the Legendary Warren Mendonsa at a gig with Blackstratblues. All this and the new Taba Chake album. I mean, it's not fair how much music he manages to immerse himself in.
My saving grace these last couple weeks has been football. Liverpool annihilated Barcelona at home (4-0!!!!) to make it into the Champions League finals. That was an absolutely mind-bending journey, I've never been so stressed about football before. To the seasoned football fans/fanatics, this might be a familiar feeling, I just want you all to know I get y'all now. I feel that feeling, it really is a beautiful game.
Anyway, this is a music newsletter, not a football newsletter, so let's get to the music, shall we?
Playlist on Spotify • Playlist on YouTube
Rush - Mali
Album: Rush (2017)
Maalavika Manoj the Chennai born Mumbai based artist who goes by the moniker Mali has been on my playlist recently. She is part of Tejas Menon's record label, Kadak Apple Records. This album in particular talks about the constant change she faced in pursuing something she believed in and the rush she got out of it. The title track likens love to drugs and it sounds very easy going which generally isn't the case with love. Her voice is beautiful and pierces through the acoustic pop soundscape in a manner similar to the way a Floyd album sounds when you're like a kite, soaring, y'know? :P Personally I feel she resonates a very indie/folk vibe, especially with her latest song Play. I highly recommend you go catch this fantabulous singer if you can 'cause damn does she have a voice and can make you groove for sure.
What a Mess - Smalltalk
Album: Tacit (2018)
One of the bands I was very excited to watch live at Control Alt Delete and these groovy boys didn't disappoint at all. I have been after Suchet to listen to these guys for a while and when he finally heard it he loved it too (It's true, I procrastinated this track for the longest time, and then heard it like 6 times in the first day -S). I recently happened to meet their lead singer at a _lvng_ gig which made me remember them and got me to listen to their tunes again. This song is about going through a rough patch and accepting the situation and man, it really does hit you when you're feeling a little down. Their songs are inspired by multiple genres, which is quite evident with funk, jazz, soul, and R&B immediately striking you. I highly recommend you go watch them live and check out their latest track Tired. [
P.S also if you watch them live don't forget to shout out 'Cmon Linford!' between tracks.
Isoterra - Dualist Enquiry
Album: Doppelganger (2013)
Delhi Based Sahej Bakshi, more commonly known as Dualist Inquiry is this huge electronica artist I have been into for a long time. His recent return from a small hiatus to pursue film making lead to this amazing music video and some great tracks which I suggest you check out. His music is filled with open synth lines, a resonating kick backdrop with progressive guitar tracking and glitchy effect constantly making his musical landscape interesting. I have always found him more of an ambient artist than a dancefloor destroyer (that's the teamix stylez eh?), which is quite enjoyable. This track, in particular, has a very Indian touch to me and is one of my favourites. I happened to catch him live at NH7 Weekender 2018 and was right up in front (man can you feel that kick right up there) and ufffgh did I really groove to his setlist. Trust me, you will not regret going for his gig.
Flamingo - Kero Kero Bonito
Album: Flamingo (2014)
You know how accents are so weird? You live in a place and start talking like people from that place, and then when you try to speak a different language, having an accent makes learning to fluently speak a new language quite troublesome, because sometimes the words just don't sound right? Sarah Bonito shits on that feeling. This song is just SO catchy, and her voice, it's so easily switched between Japanese and English, it gives the song a really surreal feeling. I'm still not too sure what this song is about, though I've been listening to it all week, on loop. I think it's about acceptance? I mainly think about what would happen if I did eat too much shrimp, will I actually turn pink?? Smart people reading this please tell me what will happen if I eat too much shrimp, thank you very much friends.
Every Day's The Weekend - Alex Lahey
Album: I Love You Like A Brother (2017)
This alternative rock artist from Australia has been making huge waves (Good tide-ings to her XD) and Rohit says he has been a huge fan of her work for a while now. Her tracks are peppy and catchy and this track, in particular, has that excellent head-pumping punk feel so reminiscent of artists like Linkin Park. The really special part of her music is the lyrics though, and to fully enjoy her music it is suggested to pay extra attention to the lyrics. Every Day's the Weekend is about that feeling we have when we enter a new relationship, and sometimes throw everything else in our life aside to spend all out time with that person. The simple 4 chord progression and consistent thumping drums make you want to shake your hair out and let loose. Rohit says he is very excited to follow her growth and development, so I think it's safe to say she is someone we should keep our ears on.
Teamix is something that gives both Rohit and I lot of pleasure. We love going through music anyway, we both often have something or the other playing, though I'm likely a much more passive listener than Rohit. The process of picking 5 songs and writing our thoughts about them is also most interesting, we're always learning something new as we go about it.
But teamix isn't just about us. We write and send this newsletter to all of you, for your listening and reading pleasure, and we'd love to hear what you think about it! We have a few good ideas about how to do better, but we have to hear from you also, otherwise we'll just be stuck in our own little world. So tell us or just ping us on IG, here are our Instagram handles: @rohit_mathew & @iyer.suchet!
Tell us what you think, tell us what you like and what you don't, tell us if you have any ideas we should think about! (WE ALSO ABSOLUTELY LOVE SOME VALIDATION!!!!!! kthanxbiiii)
As always, we recommend a comfortable chair, a nice buddy and a steaming cup of chai to pair with teamix, thank you all and see you in two weeks!
Rohit & Suchet
