As a two piece electronic act that puts out experimental music suited to underground club culture, Lateral is something of an outlier in Guwahati, Assam. Although the town treasures its love of music and verve, it’s sentiments have been deeply rooted in a more traditional fare ranging from classic rock and blues to folk and traditional pop. Lateral’s music makes the argument that with an increasingly interconnected world, a more cosmopolitan culture is knocking at the doors of India’s artists and listeners alike.
Brindabani Sarang, Lateral’s new track with Ipsita Bharali, is a celebration of love between a beat and a raga. Using Ipsita’s stunning vocals, and sounds from traditional instruments, the electronic duo has brought to life a classical masterpiece that proudly waves the banner of love in the face of a society reeling from cultural extremism. Brindabani Sarang fuses elements from psychedelic, house, Bollywood and Indian classical music, in what is perhaps Lateral’s most mainstream work yet.
“We have collaborated with Ipsita on a number of tracks over the years and were thinking about doing something new and exciting. She suggested her favourite raga (Brindabani Sarang) and we just instantly knew we wanted to make something with this. We’ve never done anything in Hindi in our entire musical careers. This track is an antithesis of everything we’ve done musically since we started playing music. It provided us a very unique opportunity and challenge to bring something that could have a more mainstream appeal and retain our independent/underground vibe. And we couldn’t be more excited,” says Amitabh Barooa.
The raga evokes sringara rasa, or the feeling of romantic love, and its recital is believed to have brought Lord Krishna himself to the earth. Set to release on the verge of Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of its protagonist, this track is Lateral’s attempt to capture the soul of Hindustani Classical music and wrap it in an electronic pop heartbeat, speaking of love and hope to a generation in a language that reaches them through time.
About Lateral
Lateral is a live electronic music duo from India, formed by producers and brothers Siddharth Barooa and Amitabh Barooa in 2016. Their debut EP ‘Us’ was released in February 2017 followed by a couple of singles and music videos in 2018. They released their 4 song second EP ‘Other Words’ in June 2019 and also released the first lead single and music video of the song “What a Way To Know’ alongside it.
The brothers are members of the popular Alternative/Progressive Rock band called Lucid Recess from India. They are also the producers and operators of Lucid Recess Studio based in Guwahati, and have worked with, recorded and produced about 300 artists and bands from all over the country.
The idea for Lateral was conceived by them out of their love for electronic music and playing live shows. Their music, rather than being fixed to a specific genre of electronic music, is more of an experimentation with a wide range of styles from house to downtempo to electronica with a nice retro vibe.
About Ipsita Bharali
Ipsita Bharali is a dynamic and versatile singer from Guwahati, who can seamlessly go from singing pop songs to classic rock song with equal ease. With her fearless attitude and confidence, she has been captivating audiences all over the country. Trained for Hindustani Classical vocals under Bhatkhande, she completed her Visharad in 2007. Along with being awarded as the best western singer in Gauhati University for two consecutive years, she has also won Idea Rocks India 2013, East Zone and numerous other awards for her singing prowess.
Ipsita has been making waves with her original songs and has also been featured in songs by popular artists of the region such as Abhi Saikia (song Dhulixona) and Lateral (song Ronor Dhou). In a short time, she has already made a considerable following with her charismatic performances and is currently working on her upcoming solo Assamese album.
