Since we last spoke to Banksia three months ago in this interview, the producer/composer, aka Vasu Patel, has not stopped working on the EP he presents today, Here, Somewhere, through his Ordinary Pleasures label. Being his fourth release this year, this genre-transcending five-tracker switches from his club cuts into modern jazz, fusing the improvisational freedom of jazz with innovative electronic production techniques. This is an immersive experience that continues to show the exciting and personal artist's creative universe.
“I’m super excited about my upcoming jazz composition that’s dropping later this year, as well as my upcoming shows!” the South Asian-British producer told us when we asked him about his upcoming projects last September when he had just released his Clay EP. “For this EP, I pretty much threw all the rules out the window. Everything I learnt in production school, all the technical stuff, I just set it aside,” he told us then. Now he surprises us with the release of Here, Somewhere, an EP that merges the raw energy of piano, saxophone, and drums, complemented by an innovative blend of electronic production techniques.
Bridging two distinct yet complementary musical styles, the second half of the EP is a bold artistic leap, showcasing two fully improvisational tracks recorded live in one-take sessions. “In these one-take recordings, the whole writing process was very free and collaborative, given the skills and expertise of everyone involved,” Banksia tells us. His artistic vision jumps to the next level with this latest release, which highlights his great musical knowledge and his desire to continue experimenting with sound. The first live showcase of the EP was at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art this summer, and he closed his performance at the Art of Noise exhibition with it.