The last time he was in the news was when he was picked from over 4,000 applications across 37 countries to be a part of the famed Red Bull Music Academy in Paris. Since then, Bengaluru-based producer, Jayanth Ramachandra aka The Sine Painter has been busy experimenting and conceptualising – not just music, but how people interact with it. A result of that endeavour is his debut EP, URL Utopias which he released recently.
Interestingly, this computer-engineer-turned-music-producer’s latest tracks have the cyber world at its core. He admits that it’s hard to explain, but he tries anyway, “Conceptually, it’s based on pockets of positivity, creativity, community and inspiration that I’d found on the Internet. From open source software development to in-depth video game text walk throughs to web-based audio visual experiences to music discussion forums – there are so many projects of ridiculous quality and magnitude that exist for anyone to consume, just because there is a person or a community of people who are really passionate about it,” says Jayanth, drawing not just inspiration from the Internet, but looking at it as a place of escape and as a comfort zone.
Divided into two sections, - (negative) and + (positive), the EP has four tracks equally split between the two. “The - tracks embody catharsis. They are those experiences where you yell, rage, shoot zombies, consume stylised hyper-violent fiction and get all this negativity out of your system. The + tracks embody hope and they are for you to fill yourself with positivity after you’ve expelled all this negativity out of your system from the first two tracks. This is why they are melodically a lot denser, they fill the space in your emotions you’ve finished emptying them,” he explains. The tracks conjure up images of a desolate, digital wasteland in a dystopian world, with soundscapes that could sound cold and bleak but are instead emotionally charged, and balanced with hope and positivity. What’s also catching the ears of discerning music fans in India and around the world is not just the music but also the microsite created by Jayanth where the tracks are hosted.
The engineering grad from BMS College picked up some new skills too. “I had no idea of either 3D modelling or web design, but I knew that they were going to be an essential part of the release. And I’d always wanted to learn both,” he says, having taken four months to learn, scrapping three different completed concepts, finally producing the tracks in a month. According to Jayanth, given the “ridiculous” amount of music we consume off the Internet, he believes that there’s a lot more to experiencing an artiste’s work than just a list of tracks, square cover art or social media giants dictating how people consume it. And with his latest, it looks like the 24-year-old is on to something and off to an ‘url’y
start!
