Artist: Sanhata
Album: Siddharta
Label: Active Meditation Music
Mastering: Makus/ Overdream Studio
Release Date: December 2012
The word Siddhartha is made up of two words in the Sanskrit language, Siddha (achieved) + Artha (meaning), which together means “he who has found the meaning (of existence)” or “he who has attained his goals” – The Enlightened One!
Siddharta is the latest release of Sanhata, new project of Swaroop Guhathakurta, a Dark Psytrance producer also known for his project Sanathana currently based in Dubai.
Another exciting and experimental release from the production house of Active Meditation Music (Macedonia), this release is a bit different from the label’s previous releases. Siddharta by Sanhata is more on the side of experimental electronica.
A whole range of technical skills, eerie sounds, abstract song structures and fable like vocals is what one can expect from this EP. Not necessarily meant for dancefloors, the EP presents the diversity for it to be both dance friendly and just plain listening music. The EP was featured on Goa Gil’s Divine Dozen for October 2012. Sanhata project of Swaroop is similar to his project Sanathana in many ways. At the same time, with this project Swaroop has gone beyond the boundaries that could have been restricting him in his Sanathana project.
This EP is a dedication to Gautam Buddha and seems to take inspiration from the various stories about Buddha. A variety of different instruments selection makes this an exciting EP to hear. At times, it stretches on the boundary of music and experimentation. This creates tension in the sense of suspense in the form of music as well at times boredom. The music in the Siddhartha EP has various spiritual undertones in line with some of Swaroop’s other releases with the Sanathana Project. The tribal drums patterns used are reminiscent of ancient drum rituals of the past seen across many cultures. Cutting edge sounds generated from various types of sound synthesis is another characteristic feature of this EP. Production of sounds with an out-of-the-box approach focusing on ‘LIVE’ and extended play, improvising with minimum re-takes or processing is how Sanhata portrays this release. Long tracks designed with the sole intent of a story that constantly changes and ends with a positive and meaningful insight. Intrinsic soundscapes on the EP which seems to be influenced by various dark ambient, IDM and dark styles of music throws the listener into sonic exploration.
The EP was constructed on Fruity Loops Studio 10. Good quality mastering can be seen on the EP. The sound design by Sanhata required special attention which seems to be done fairly enough by Markus/ Overdream. Not so much concentration is paid equalizing the various elements of the track. This is something in line what the artist wanted to create in his tracks.
Track 1 and Track 3 present this experimental menagerie Swaroop wishes to showcase through this EP. Track 2 is much more of a dancefloor track with fat baseline with interesting sounds and funky riffs. The three tracks are designed to represent the small fragments from the life of Siddhartha.
Though this music comes under the banner of psychedelic trance music, it present a whole range of quality and more importantly a unique and varied style of presentation, expression and composition in terms of electronic music production. Considering the artist has 10 years of production experience, his skills in putting out bizarre sounds is quite good. Interesting usage of Indian instruments can be heard on this EP.
Tracklist:
01.Sanhata – Voice Of Your Conscience (156 Bpm) 12:30
02.Sanhata – Merchant vs. Brahman (160 Bpm)
03.Sanhata – Siddhartha (160 Bpm)
Swaroop Guhathakurta is into EDM/ IDM/ Psytrance/ Dub/ Fusion/ Ambient/ Psybient and DnB. He began producing psytrance by 2001 however his first release as psytrance project Sanathana came by about 2009. He earlier went by the name Psy Dimension working and producing mainly in UK. He also worked as a DJ playing at various parties. Swaroop was involved in organizing various psytrance gathering in UAE such as Psynthesis, etc. Quipu, is another side project of Swaroop with Psytrance producer Overdream started in 2011.
Things have been going well for the producer with several releases on various international record labels like Nabi Records and Geomagnetic Records. Sanathana’s music is dark twisted psychedelic trance not for everyone to put it plainly. With a unique blend of fast paced drum patterns and psychedelic atmospheres, Sanathana has created a signature style of his own. He likes to keep his music chaotic with a lot of twists and turns attempting to throw one’s mind from on level of consciousness to another. He is also involved in production of ambient/dub/fusion flavored music. Swaroop with his various projects is making a noteworthy contribution in the Indian Electronica scene. Hope to see more such interesting works from this artist/producer in future.
Discography of Sanathana Project:
Sanathana & Khaos Sektor – ThetaWave Stimulation (Split Album)
Sanathana – Spiritual Awakening EP
Sanathana – Pendulum LP
Sanathana – Transition EP
Sanathana – Saraswati LP
For information on Swaroop’s other project go here:
www.sgdesigns.co.uk
