Posts by Dhruva Balram (@dhruvabalram)

Desire Paths: Ganavya

Ganavya’s spiritual compositions have taken her from film scores and star collaborations to the stage of Sault’s headline-making live show. With new album ‘Like the Sky, I’ve Been Too Quiet’, the Tamil artist is discovering that it’s about the journey, not the destination

Speakers Corner Quartet: “Sincerity reigns supreme”

This is Signing Off, our year-end series with the artists who defined 2023. Finally, we meet Speakers Corner Quartet, the experimental south London band fusing spoken word, jazz and hip-hop to deliver a message of kinship and resilience

Rising: Elmiene is preparing for the next chapter

The rise (and rise) of Elmiene has been brisk by any measure. As he looks to the future, and a new project that will set the agenda for his next chapter, we catch up with the singer-songwriter for Issue 144

Teezo Touchdown is evolving on his own terms

Alt-rap star Teezo Touchdown has split opinion, leaning into alter egos and curveball aesthetics to express his boundless creativity. As he preps his upcoming debut album, it’s time for the music to speak for itself

The Comet Is Coming

Hyper-Dimensional Expansion Beam Impulse! Records

Jeshi: “I hate the term conscious rap”

The east London rapper talks austerity in London and his debut album Universal Credit. Jeshi stars in Issue 132’s Aesthetic feature

Wu-Lu

Loggerhead Warp Records

Kendrick Lamar

Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope

The collapse and rebirth of Sri Lanka’s music underground

The shadow of civil war, government indifference and, most recently, the pandemic have conspired against the island country’s creatives. Finally, there is cause for hope

Friendly Society: Yellowzine are rewriting the pages of art publishing

Aisha and Oreoluwa Ayoade observed first-hand how unequal the creative industries can be. So they created a resource to change it.

Daytimers: The new kids on the block

In spite of global political, industrial and technological significance, South Asian cultural status is hidden in the margins, often pigeonholed into Bhangra, Bollywood and Citizen Khan. Provhat Rahman, a producer and DJ from east London, is set on changing the narrative.

Imagining freedom: The protest music of Kashmir

Amid escalating tensions in the region, artists are using music to strengthen cultural identity and spread messages of hope