loish – What You Need It For | Blissful Labyrinth

Delhi instrumental post-rock progressive project loish (pronounced eye-o-ish/ IO-ish) is back with some refreshing and mind-stimulating music. We get to hear their masterpiece of a song, What You Need It For, from their upcoming record In Waves, which builds a labyrinth of delicious prog goodness.

The project helmed by composer and guitarist Vaibhav Bhutani since 2012 has come a long way from the home studio project it once was. This includes the 2016 EP We Move The Sky and the 2018 follow-up Reconstructing Dreams, and also touring with legendary acts like Guthrie Govan, Intervals, and As I Lay Dying. loish currently consists of Vaibhav as composer with Shantanu Sudarshan on drums.

What You Need It For is a musical narrative that espouses modern innovative rock at its finest. It builds up to a climactic chorus, blending electronic synths, jazzy horn sections, intelligent drumming, novel guitar textures, and rhythmic syncopation. An atmospheric electronic synth production creates a himalayan aura, as the song commences. Right at the beginning, as a light polyrhythmic melody springs up on this background, we know we are in for a treat.

With a snappy snare sound, the drums are swept in. We are then treated to a dizzying concoction of jazz fusion, delightful polyrhythmic grooves, and innovative rock at the centre of it. The guitar tones by loish are multi-layered and cover the sonic spectrum with a unique imprint. The song builds to a crescendo as elements keep adding and concludes in a stunning finale progression that you would keep reveling in.

In Waves is meant to have an audio-visual storytelling experience. It cannot be denied that Ioish has a penchant for incredibly beautiful, eye-catching, and complex but elegantly well-designed cover art over the years. Thus, the song also is accompanied by a hypnotic and captivating visualizer video.

The song is also a collaborative effort by loish featuring a host of phenomenal global talents. NYC/London French Horn session musician Meredith Moore, who has worked with the likes of Paul McCartney, Mumford and Sons, and Robbie Williams, and has even been part of Pixar movie soundtracks, has composed the horn section. The song also features prolific veteran Mumbai bassist Nikhil Rufus Raj who has been bassist to bands like Faridkot and Skyharbor, among scores of others. Brett Caldas Lima has worked on the mix and master, whose credits include the likes of prog legends like Devin Townsend, Septicflesh, and Between The Buried And Me no less.