Sandunes - NOLA Daydream

Mumbai-based keys player, composer and beatsmith, Sandunes heads up the latest release on Artist Originals, an initiative from international streaming service, Saavn, to develop and distribute new music with independent artists from around the world. The release takes the form of an audio-visual EP, each track paired with video in collaboration with budding young animation directors, and conceived around esoteric influences – magic, tarot and the occult – that inspired the music.

Sandunes has been a global presence lately, opening for Bonobo at Manchester International Festival, performing at London’s Barbican Centre under a commission from Warp Records, alongside appearances throughout India, including celebrated Magnetic Fields festival and the prestigious National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai. And it was whilst touring as support for Pretty Lights in US, where her latest EP was birthed.

“NOLA Daydream” was conceived and recorded during a fortuitous studio session on a tour stop in New Orleans. Sandunes explains: “While touring the US with Pretty Lights, I was the beneficiary of a serendipitous opportunity. The day before scheduled studio time in New Orleans, Derek (Pretty Lights) had to rush home to Colorado. I found myself in a beautiful New Orleans studio, surrounded by a wealth of gifted local musical talent. There was only one thing to do: record. This material – snippets, samples, and recordings – have formed the musical foundation and conceptual inspiration for my next EP: 'NOLA Daydream'.”

Whilst producing the record from her Mumbai studio, Sandunes teamed up with the animation house Studio Moebius to devise ‘NOLA Daydream’ as an audio visual project. Sandunes explains “The theme behind NOLA Daydream is identity, ancestral lineage, and questioning where we come from. I've always been inspired to explore the question – where do we come from, and are we simply a product of the experiences of our ancestors? Nikunj (Studio Moebius’ founder) and I worked together on another video project and I love the pairing between his art and my music. We developed the conceptual foundation that other videos by Venkatram Viswanathan and TRIP Design Studio director Preteek Sethi are built on. The videos form a 4-part series, which tells the story of a young woman guided by intuition through a mental maze. In part it’s a metaphor for the sometimes unhelpful neurological fizz our minds create as we move through life.”

Inspired by the ever-presence of magic and the occult in New Orleans culture, and drawing parallels with the arcane spiritual traditions of her grandparents, NOLA Daydream encapsulates the soul of two uniquely wild cities, “NOLA Daydream” bursts with transcultural attitude. Luxuriant synths pulse with the purple swagger of funk indebted beats. Horns swell in and out of focus and muted big bands bleed into the tracks, like parasite information fighting for bandwidth in the city bustle. Keys slur their way out of the jazz clubs and onto the streets, comatose and vacillating with sunstroke and Sandunes guides the listener through serene backdrops and moments of vivid élan, seamlessly switching between the spirituality of her home and the street credibility and remarkable musical heritage of its US counterpart.

2018 will see Sandunes work on a new live A/V show, with an Indian tour in February and tour dates in Europe throughout the summer.

‘NOLA Daydream’ is released digitally and across all streaming platforms on February 7th.

Sandunes

http://www.sandunesmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sandunesmusic/
https://soundcloud.com/sandunes

Saavn / Artist Originals

https://www.saavn.com/
http://www.aomusic.in/
https://soundcloud.com/artist-originals