ODYSSEY by Jaskaran
The Blog #15: mellow Punjabi pop for the 2am seshes
The Blog features short writeups on short EPs. My thoughts and track-by-track notes are listed below. Listen to the EP. Discuss. Enjoy.
Place @original listen: Flight
Thoughts:
I love flying. It is the only time I am absolutely forced to do nothing but write or read, two primary goals I am always slacking on. Writing on a phone is hard, but I do it to feel like a struggling artist. I also don’t trust myself on a laptop. Too many shiny icons work offline. The Punjabi music industry is, and always will be, a revelation to me. Their dominance at a global level, almost to the point of being a soft power for India, is very much an antithesis to our country’s music habits. Indian music, for the longest time(and probably to this day), is tied to visual medium. Films inform your favorite music, and you always associate your feelings toward it with what you see on screen. If a protest song is used as a romantic number with Shah Rukh Khan on it, it is now in your playlist for lovesickness. The Punjabi music industry has ties to Bollywood, (Diljit Dosanjh is basically a Bollywood actor at this point), but by and large, they operate akin to western music industries. I think there are two reasons for this. One, the artists are exposed to the workings of the global music industry by virtue of their diaspora and two, their film industry is not as strong. Tamilians have also settled world over, but their film industry is too dominant for their primary cultural currency to change to music. So, Punjabi music is a global phenomenon. And that leaves Jaskaran in an interesting position. Because he is a Punjabi artist in DHH. He hasn’t yet crossed over to global stardom like the likes of AP and Karan; and yes, I know he has about 1.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify. DHH is in a deeply experimental stage still—the formula for hits has not been found yet. ODYSSEY by Jaskaran feels like a marriage of this experimentation with radio-ready Punjabi pop. As the name, and the title suggest, the album rests on a bed of synths that attempt to create this otherworldly feel. Think, a 15-minute EP equivalent of that man ascending to the light meme. LUSH is the best example of the formula he is going for. I’m not going to say anymore, just listen to it. Shit’s ethereal. Dox and Jaskaran have worked together for years now (Jaskaran’s biggest hit is on Dox’s producer EP, ONE FROM THE CROWD), so the vision has two driving forces. I’m surprised they made IF I DO the leading single though—it is a proper Punjabi banger, but in the context of the album, it doesn’t fit the soundscape until the outro where the synths are slapped on like an afterthought. I would have gone with ODYSSEY because it has some Karan Aujla in it, but what do I know, I’m just the struggling writer. The scene is alive, man.
Notes:
FORGOTTEN: I am dude in the meme of a person ascending to heaven with the light. Synths gently crash in the background. Chill Punjabi pop. Jaskaran is really crooning, very different from his work with Bagi Munda. Love the static-y drums.
ODYSSEY: the synths that come on at the start make up the soundscape even as the track itself picks up in tempo and I find that very cool. Chiller version of Take It Easy by Karan Aujla and Ikky.
IF I DO: the soundscape of the project rests on synth lines meant for stoner seshes with the lads. But this track has that play-in-the-car-hype energy about it though. Wish it was a bit more lo-fi to fit the previous tracks’ soundscapes because chill Punjabi pop is still an under-explored space. Would have been a banger if it didn’t sit in this more lo-fi project.
LUSH: fav track on the EP. We’re back into chill pop. Jaskaran can really sing man. Love that little crooning in the background as he pours his heart out on the track. Stopped taking notes to just listen.
PESHA: this is what I imagine IF I DO could have been. Decent track. The horns paired with the synth are cool. The energy flags toward the end but the track is short so you don’t feel it drag. Solid ending to the EP.
just gave a listen, banger project banger write-up