Tag: Madame Gandhi

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Madame Gandhi Shares Afrobeat Inspired “Heart Wide Open”

Madame Gandhi (born Kiran Gandhi) is an award-winning artist and activist best known for crafting uplifting, percussive electronic music rooted in positive messages about gender liberation and personal power.

Gandhi first cut her teeth as a touring drummer for the likes of M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, Kehlani and others. But she stepped out into the spotlight as a solo artist and producer in 2015 after her story about running the London Marathon free-bleeding to combat menstrual stigma went viral around the world. While writing and recording material, the very busy Gandhi has been listed on Forbes 30 Under 30 in Music. Her 2020 TED Talk about conscious music consumption has been viewed over one million times.

Her video for “Waiting For Me,” which was shot in Mumbai won the Music Video Jury Award at last year’s SXSW Film Festival. Her 100% Organically Sourced x Sound MANA nature sound pack won the New Wav award at least year’s Splice Awards.

And adding to a busy resume, Gandhi completed a Masters in Music Science and Technology at Stanford University’s Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA). As part of her studies, she spent time in Antarctica sampling the sounds of glaciers melting to create empathy and awareness around climate change.

Late lat week, the award-winning artist and activist released her latest, short-form album Vibrations through Sony Music Masterworks. The album is a danceable, five-part atmospheric meditation that doubles as a rousing statement on gratitude. Vibrations is the third and final part of a trilogy — following 2016’s Voices and 2019’s Visions — that looks at personal liberation, activism, being in service and evolving in love. “Each mini-album begins with a V because I liked the subliminal reference to the feminine anatomy. It’s healing. It’s energy. It’s music. It’s touch, feel. It’s inclusive,” Gandhi says. But instead of being a coda, Vibrations is about “the feeling of soothing loneliness in a low, vibrational way.”

Fittingly, the album is as effervescently escapist as its title implies and is rooted in personal experience: When Gandhi came out of pandemic-related isolation, she felt as though she were a different person: uplifted, vivacious, content. The album manages to be a psychic rebirth, a life’s plan and a celebration of existence — simultaneously.

Vibrations latest single, the MNDR and Ebonie Smith co-produced “Heart Wide Open” is a joyous club rocker that’s also a loving homage to Fela Kuti with the song featuring a big, funky horn section, twinkling Rhodes and shuffling African-inspired polyrhythm paired with euphoria-inducing hooks and Gandhi’s sultry cooing. The song is rooted in an uplifting message about the power of vulnerability. joy, honesty and of course, music — with a narrator, who’s ready to change things for the positive.
 
 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Floral and Femme Punk-Inspired Visuals for Taleen Kali’s “Half Lie”

Last month, I wrote about Taleen Kali, an up-and-coming Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter and musician, who’s best known for being a member of TÜLIPS, and as  you may recall, after the band broke up, Kali decided go to solo — and within a relatively short period of time, she developed a reputation for being one of her hometown’s next big artists, as she’s opened for the likes of Madame Gandhi and Kimya Dawson, and has played sets at Echo Park Rising Festival, Mothership Festival and Women Fuck Shit Up Fest.

“Half Lie,” the first single off her soon-to-be released Kristin Kontrol-produced EP Soul Songs, has received to attention from the likes of Stereogum and others, and it shouldn’t be surprising as it’s a decidedly New Wave-like take on noise rock that will remind some listeners of Gothic Tropic,Dum Dum Girls, Dirty Ghosts — but while interestingly enough nodding at Go-Gos and others, complete with an infectious, arena rock hook. And much like “Lost & Bound,” “Half Lie” reveals an artist, who can effortlessly walk a tightrope between a slick studio sheen and a scuzzy punk rock air — without feeling contrived or ridiculous.

Centered around a concept devised by its director Leila Jarman, the recently released video is all about bright, springtime colors and as Kali told The Grey Estates,  “The video for ‘Half Lie’ is all about floral femme with a punk rock edge…it expands on the theme of the song, which is about half truths we hear from others, and the lies we tell ourselves. In the video, we celebrate the journey into new truths, turning them into ceremonies. The visuals depict lush rituals performed by some of my favorite L.A. artists, Madison René Knapp and Kayla Tange, who lead us up into the grand spiritual unveiling at the end.”

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

Perhaps best known as a member of Los Angeles-based band TÜLIPS,  the singer/songwriter and musician Taleen Kali decided to go solo after the band broke up — and in a relatively short period of time, Kali has developed a reputation as one of her hometown’s up-and-coming talents, as she has opened forthe likes of Madame Gandhi and Kimya Dawson, and has played sets at Echo Park Rising Festival, Mothership Festival and Women Fuck Shit Up Fest. And with the release of “Half Life,” the first single off her forthcoming Kristin Kontrol-produced EP Soul Songs, Kali has begun to receive attention from the likes of Stereogum and others, quickly developing a reputation for a New Wave take on noise rock and punk reminiscent of Gothic Tropic, Dum Dum Girls, Dirty Ghosts and others.

Building upon the growing buzz surrounding her, Kali recently released the EP’s latest single, the anthemic, hook-laden, dance floor friendly  “Lost & Bound,” and  that the single reveals an artist, who can effortlessly walk a tightrope between a slick studio sheen and a scuzzy punk rock air — without feeling contrived or ridiculous. Interestingly, there’s a subtle hint of triumph over something deeply daunting that adds to the song’s danceable vibe and anthemic hooks; in fact, as Kali explains in press notes, “‘Lost & Bound’ is about finding yourself again after being lost. I wanted to write a song that was really dark but also danceable, so I wrote a dirge dedicated to a ‘lost self,’ and I added a disco beat to add this sense of movement, of celebration, of making it to the other side.”  

Kali is playing a handful of live shows in the Los Angeles area over the next few weeks. If you’re in the area, check them out, below.

Tour Dates
05.20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hi Hat (Dum Dum Zine Kickoff Party For L.A. Zine Week)
05.27 – Pasadena, CA @ Pasadena Convention Center (LA Zine Fest)
06.26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Resident (Record Release show)