Contemporary electronic music production has served to score the memories of a generation here in India, but with one element strangely absent – voice and vernacular. As Lifafa, Suryakant Sawhney has spent five years exploring uncharted terrain in this part of the world through electronic music that not only speaks in sonics but also foregrounds words and meaning. Via an ongoing exploration of Hindi and Urdu, a constant refinement of his production techniques, and his instinctive take on melody and cadence, this music – spiritual and sensual, familiar and alien – has caught the attention of audiences not just in urban, Anglicised India, but in less obvious corners of this country, and beyond. Undefined and yet familiar, it presents a compelling insight into what the future of music from this region could be.
