Indian electronic duo KillZen have banded with singer-songwriter Karma for their brand new single, ‘Grey.’
What started as an academic project in 2016 evolved into a product of a competition in 2020, and now it marks KillZen‘s first vocal-based track created in collaboration with Karma. Titled ‘Grey,’ KillZen’s latest offering weaves in pulsating beats amidst delicate melodies that propel Karma’s emphatic vocals. It stands apart from their previous bodies of work with its inclusion of vocals while still keeping the duo’s flair for creating majestic and emotional soundscapes. “In a whirlwind 50-hour burst of inspiration and collaboration, “Grey” was brought to life,” KillZen tells us as they retrace the origin of the song.
“The inception of our idea dates back to 2016 when we were in music school. At that time, we started a project, named it ‘Firefly’ and stowed it away in our creative vault,” they said. As the world came to a standstill in 2020, KillZen performed for 13 home-based shows to channel their energy into a creative outlet and to stay connected with our audience. One such outlet was a 50-hour music writing competition, which saw ‘Firefly’ transform into ‘Grey’ during the course of their challenge. “The prompt presented to us was to write lyrics inspired by the title of a book. In response, we reached out to a talented lyricist named Karma and invited her to begin composing lyrics to accompany our existing track,” added KillZen.
The Delhi-based duo, comprised of musicians Abhishek Chaturvedi and Anannya Gupta, roped in Karma (Karma Tashi Bhutia) during their 50-hour music composition challenge to compose lyrics and record the vocals during the peak COVID-19 lockdown period. “With nothing more than a smartphone’s microphone and a makeshift acoustic solution in the form of a blanket, she showcased her exceptional skills like the true champion she is,” reminisced KillZen. “After the COVID restrictions were lifted, we took a trip to our go-to studio and recorded high quality vocals for our release. Post that, it was just a matter of replacing the newly recorded vocals with the old ones.”
While the pair are known for their original emotive and immersive aural expeditions devoid of vocals, ‘Grey’ gets the ball rolling for a series of vocal tracks that KillZen have banked. Talking about venturing more into this newer arena, the artist noted, “Throughout our journey, we’ve diligently sought vocalists whose voices resonate harmoniously with our distinctive style. With this release, we envision a cascading effect, hoping to foster collaborations with exceptional talents like Karma. There’s an abundance of vocal remixes and collaborative projects still awaiting their debut.”
They also touched upon wading through another new territory in their musical escapades. “Our repertoire extends beyond vocals; we’ve also delved into the realm of cinematic and orchestral music. In these endeavours, we’ve had the privilege of collaborating with numerous gifted instrumentalists, and we can’t wait to share these projects with the world,” unveiled KillZen.
As they bask in the release of ‘Grey,’ KillZen exclusively reveals their upcoming project to us. “We’re actually overflowing with excitement as we anticipate the global release of our debut Sofar Sounds performance scheduled for October 6th. We’ve also prepared an exciting surprise that promises to add an extra layer of enjoyment for our cherished listeners and the Sofar audience. This is actually the first time we are talking about this, up until now, it’s been kept under wraps!”
Song Credits:
Music by KillZen (Abhishek Chaturvedi and Anannya Gupta)
Singing & Songwriting by Karma
Mastered by Anannya Gupta
Photographed, edited & 3D artwork production by De:visualism (Tanvi Bhatnagar)
Listen to ‘Grey’ by KillZen Ft. Karma: HERE
Find KillZen on: Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
Karma on: Instagram | Spotify
Check out more releases more Indian artists –
You May Also Like:
Stadiumx Talks About Creating ‘Heaven’ With Azahriah and Sam Martin
TFword in Conversation With Like Mike
