Influenced by the high-energy sound system culture of West Bengal.
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Overbit’ lands as the debut single and first taster of the forthcoming Mela EP spanning four dynamic club tracks that draw a direct line between Indian sound clashes and the forward-thinking pulse of UK club culture. Mela (translating to festival/gathering) sees the Indian-born, Brooklyn-based duo dive into the riotous sound clash traditions of West Bengal and Maharashtra, where towering, DIY sound systems rigged up by local crews transform the streets into electric battlegrounds of bass, rhythm, and sound.
Overbit plunges the listener headfirst into the mela with its engulfing bass dives, crowd noise and head-spinning percussion workouts.
“We grew up witnessing processions like these in Bombay and Delhi, but only later drew parallels to UK bass and sound system culture as we began producing music,” explain Jaiveer and Mihir. “We saw these two worlds that were both thriving in isolation from each other, and the idea of bridging those worlds really excited us.”
Mela marks a fresh tonal shift as their most immersive EP yet both sonically and in its writing process. What started as a casual discovery of popular West Bengal box competition videos quickly spiraled into a creative whirlwind. Jaiveer and Mihir dove deep, producing fast, aggressive Maharashtra dhol tasha rhythms and rowdy “humming” basslines, layered with dubby textures and jittery rave-tinged melodic flourishes that culminated in the high-intensity Mela EP.
The single marks a welcomed return of Baalti who made huge strides with their sophomore release, Better Together, garnering widespread acclaim with Mixmag naming them “Breakthrough DJs of 2023” and featuring one of the EPs tracks “Spilling” as one of the “Best Tracks of 2023.”
Artist links: Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp | Soundcloud
Label links: Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp | Soundcloud