Pakshee
Top Track: Kyun
I’ve often been known to hunt for a new funky genre especially when it combines elements of Indian music. This album, though, caught me quite by surprise. Tailing off a randomly shuffled playlist, Kyun, immediately grabbed my attention within the opening seconds - with its playful ‘pops’ panning across my headphones, and an addictive electric guitar riff. While the melodic Tamil lyrics at the beginning of the piece beautifully introduced the song, the surprising verse in Hindi excited me, making the melody seem all the more memorable.
The showstopper for me was about halfway through the song, with the Solkattu or spoken mnemonics of a Carnatic rhythmic cycle being spoken over a trap beat, forming the breakdown section of this song. The seamless blend between these unexpected genres immediately drew me into pausing and repeating the sections to further analyse the intricacies of the breakdown.
Overall, this album is so cleverly put together, blending across Southern and Northern Indian music with techno or trap beats. The unsubtle integration of the tabla, or technically trained classical vocalists is such an unexpected but very welcome fusion in a way I have never experienced before. What impressed me most was that neither genre felt decorative. Often, fusion projects treat one tradition as the novelty and the other as the foundation. Here, the Carnatic and Hindustani influences feel central to the music's identity rather than added for flavour. The trap and techno elements support the classical ideas rather than competing with them.
had to think a little about whom I'd recommend this album to, even though I was a huge fan after the first track I encountered. I found myself caught between two audiences: whether South Asian classical purists would embrace such an unconventional treatment of familiar musical ideas, and whether listeners arriving from trap, funk, or electronic music would be drawn to the prominent classical influences. The project sits comfortably in neither camp, yet that may be precisely its strength. By creating a genuine dialogue between these genres rather than allowing one to dominate the other, Pakshee opens a pathway for audiences to engage with musical traditions they may not otherwise encounter. If this balance continues to evolve, I could easily imagine the project resonating far beyond listeners already familiar with South Asian music. Regardless, I know I would have the time of my life experiencing this repertoire in a live setting, where the rhythmic energy and genre-blending experimentation would likely feel even more exhilarating.
