Recently, I spent a couple of months exploring some of the marginalized niche nightlife scenes that exist in Delhi. Namely, I looked at queer¹, African, and Northeastern party scenes in the Capital. When niche nightlife communities emerge from the mainstream grounded in a specific musical genre – take, for example, the psychedelic trance community – they’re rarely explicitly political. They exist because people enjoy a certain kind of music, certain kinds of drugs, or aesthetic, and the kind of social capital that emerges within their fringe scene. But when niche scenes emerge around a specific identity – be it national, ethnic, or sexual – they are much more likely to have emerged because of processes of social exclusion. …

It’s usually not that hard to pin an artist’s sound down anymore, mostly because with the Internet and piracy, anyone anywhere can be influenced by anyone anywhere – it’s not outrageous to listen to a producer from Nepal churn out off-kilter, off-time beats a la Flying Lotus, or even find an upstart beatsmith nick and steal from some other upstart beatsmith. There’s confluence and congruence everywhere, and it’s fairly easy to pin down sounds and scenes and inspiration. …

Nyururtsu is the title of the latest compilation by Akaliko Records an offshoot of the Dhaka Electronica Scene (DES) spearheaded by Khan Mohammed Faisal. The landscape of electronic music in Dhaka has seen a remarkable transformation since DES came into being. It is undoubtedly, because of a few hard working people who’ve taken a vision and done everything in their power to make it tangible and real. Nyurutsu represents DES’s evolution and much more. …

A few years ago, in conversation with drummer Steve Turncrantz (of Russian Circles fame), I learnt the futility of the term post-rock. Maybe the genre, baptized arguably by American explorers Slint circa the early 90s, had cast its last legion of influencers— you know kids with oversized hoodies and torn jeans, all flipping off the mainstream and swearing by their ‘cumulative timbres’ and ‘cinematic flourish’. …

By now, this story has already been told. But let’s tell it again: Over the years, many gatekeepers have turned me away. But intimidation had never really struck until I was straddling the infamous fences of the Berghain. It was early 2007, Marcel Dettmann had just put out MDR 1 (a bat-out-of-hell 12”), sparking a small heatwave across Europe with his cyclonic DJ sets. From its wanna-be-startin’-somethin’ title to Thor-like kickdrum, “Let’s Do It” perfectly encapsulated that spirit (“1 part kick drum,to 1 part earthquake”). It was music that encased raw power like a bomb, held together by a seething cord. Ready to indulge, I slowly crept up to the old powerplant door. Sven (the gatekeeper) stared me down from the darkness, burning a hole through the guts of my soul. I am not entirely sure what he saw, whether it was fear or steel-eyed resolve. I got in. …

Label head honcho and BangBang co-founder, Asvajit recently launched a fresh imprint ‘Jambutek’ in an effort to take the growing number of Sri Lankan electronic musicians under his wing. Currently the only electronic music label in Sri Lanka, JambuTek places focus on pushing out deeper and more alternative sounds. The label showcases, broadly put, an alternative to music that falls under the widely used term “EDM” that is quickly flooding the realms of popular culture. Jambutek represents an alternative to this movement, a niche scene within Sri Lanka that is deeply engrossed in the fine lines between house, techno and dub. …

It isn’t difficult to spot the characteristically colourful Rajasthani folk musician with his exquisite yet peculiar set of instruments and attire. He represents a culture that dates back centuries but has only started to receive global attention now. …

South Asia’s answer to legendary E-werk or Bunker in Berlin? Well as a one-off at least :

For the third consecutive year running Border Movement and the Goethe Institut Colombo are throwing a party at a temporary location in Pettah, the old historical quarter of the Sri Lankan capital. …