Raxxtar debuts his music career with us. Afsos is his first single, a journey and the meditational result of one. Inspire by the tests of time and the lessons learnt, his compositions use space and notes sparingly, creating a magical, surreal atmosphere that can be truly enjoyed. We asked him a few questions about the single and his musical journey itself.
This track is your professional venture into the world of music. What does Afsos mean to you?
Afsos is an unintentional by-product of my enlightening nomadic experiences of the past year. It’s an outcome of relentless efforts into honing specialized skills in songwriting all by myself from absolute zero. Also, it’s a memorable milestone worth savouring, but merely the first among many more to come.
Opening with synths and key leads, vocals gently flow in with aalaps, bringing the core progression. A thematic, pulsating sound paints the background, while the vocals are the spray-painted night sky. In a rare development, Raxxtar mixes the instrumentals and vocals in a tandem, something that is rare and presumed to be a faux pas. In this style, however, his sound plays off of the background, stretching the essence and meaning of the note before changing lines.
Composing this melancholy track, you’ve managed to intersperse genres you admire How did you go about crafting this?
The styles that I wanted came about as naturally as possible in a flow. I didn’t try to force fit different styles for the sake of it. There is a significant shift in the mood of the song in the middle, which demanded a specific genre for amplifying the emotions captured. And I believe, this way all the different genres came together perfectly complementing each other.
The organic shifts in tone are spectacular to hear, with the poetic lyrics giving us insight into his lucid yet creative thought process. You can hear what the instrumentals tend to do, shift currents and change the flow of the song ever so gently.
In terms of musical influences, who would you state as unlikely ones, but directional in some sense?
Among the likely ones, I would put AR Rahman on top. The way I see his music is him putting a lot of soul in his music but with unexpected transitions. Among the unlikely ones, I will say Hans Zimmer, who don’t really make music like this, but his work inspires me to create a sense of being epic and a sense of being larger than life with an underlying current of innocence.
What can we expect next from Raxxtar? Is there an album planned?
I would like to experiment further in different styles in future, that as I don’t see myself limited to a particular form. An album is definitely being considered, but right now it’s not a priority.
Is there a future where you see yourself collaborating as part of a larger project? A band or touring group, maybe?
Yeah, I do see them as a huge learning opportunity for a rookie like me, so I would want to be part of something like this. However, this would not be at cost of me working on my own projects independently.
So there you have it. A dense sonic soundscape thoroughly experimented with, accents involved. The lyrics remain the highlight, condensing lessons of a traveller with panache. This is Raxxtar in the cocoon stage, we have a lot to see and experience from him, musically.
Till then, listen to his single Afsos here:
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
