Raghav’s latest EP “Satya Sakshaat (LP)” is a banger with 14 tracks revolving around the uncannyness experiences the young generation is faced with.

Tell us about your track
Satya Sakshaat is a 14-track full-length LP released in March 2022. Each track is laid down carefully with a distinct soundscape and emotion. The concept of the album revolves around existentialism and self-introspection with themes of psychedelia, revelation, love and god. The album doesn’t conform itself to the mainstream “hype culture” and at times compromises playability in a sense over artistic expression with long passages of music and instrumentation. The production is dense and rich ranging from pure experimental music for a lack of a better word to 70s psychedelic rock, retro Bollywood music, hip hop and pop. However, the sound of the album does not limit itself to fit inside any particular mould.

Tell us your inspiration behind this track
The album came about as a reflection of what I wanted to present to the world, and the experiences and revelations I went through as a person over a period of time. The album dwells upon the fact that humans are living in a “make-believe” world, and that we create these problems for ourselves then either the society or the conglomerates sell us the solutions for these ‘problems’. No one seems to care about the sheer madness of it all and we go on about our lives living in our little boxes. Amongst all of this, one is left confused and inevitably asks themselves – “What is the meaning of it all?”, “What does it mean to exist?” The album doesn’t seek to answer these questions, rather it aims to provide the listener with a perspective. A journey into the self.

How long did it take to record the track \album \EP ?
I was conceptualising and working on the album for over a period of one and a half years while releasing other music and singles on the side.

What is the meaning behind the lyrics?
The concept of “air” is a recurring theme across the entire project right from the first track “Kaisa Aakhir Hota Hai Ye Udna” literally translates to what does it feel like to fly. Air in SS world is looked upon as ‘liberation’, ‘freedom’, ‘god’, and the ‘ultimate reality’. We breathe in the air which is all around us. It has no source, no beginnings and no endings. The protagonist longs to be free from the shackles of daily mundane mediocrity of life and wants to experience the universe in the direction in which life naturally wants to flow in. The second track ‘1.5 GB’, goes a step deeper and explores the idea of making one’s reality and how the present being is an accumulation of every action that a person has taken up until that point. The way that we think, the way that we understand the world around us and interact with it. Raghav expresses his dissatisfaction with the workings of the present society and systems which do not let a human being flourish to their full potential and moulds them into mindless robots to be a part of this big and organized factory. Another tangent of the album is that the listener is actually an alien entity who is flying above the earth looking down at the plight of humans, trying to figure them out. ‘Drishya’ presents this idea with Raghav and Athem Oski talking about going insane in a world full of insanity. The track concludes with a recap of events, destruction and accomplishments of humans in recent history. ‘Yagna’ is the fourth track and sonically the most experimental out of the lot. With trumpets, free-flowing drums, synthesizers and basslines flowing in no particular structure. The album becomes sonically complex every time humans reach closer to the truth or ‘Satya’. This instrumental havoc materializes into the entity landing on Earth which the humans were calling in the Yagna followed by the entity reciting various Shlokas from the Bhagwat Geeta in Sanskrit. ‘Dastaan’ is the fifth track which starts off as a psychedelic trip and is a homage to Pink Floyd’s “Time”, which becomes stronger and stronger. As the protagonist goes deeper into the trip, they make certain realizations about life, the universe and themselves. The next track starts off with Raghav harmonizing with multiple layers and effects on his voice and takes the listener to a place where words have little meaning. There is a beat switch in the middle and the title of the song becomes apparent ‘Sab Kuchh Hoon Mei’. Raghav goes on to deliver ideas of existentialism, reality and human nature on this beautiful track laid down on a soundbed of acoustic guitars and simple drums. The album begins to shift gears from the 7th track ‘Dilkashi’ where Raghav and Toorjo Dey join forces and hop on a dusty beat which feels like it came from a french discotheque. With vinyl scratches bumping throughout the song, Raghav and Toorjo talk about infatuation and love. Amongst all of existentialism, to fall in love with someone feels like therapy. However, this love that they have talked about is not only for a person but also for the universe and themselves. For the path that they are on, and for the women of course. Raghav joins forces with his former crew Teesri Duniya and Mumbai-based producer Vedang on the 8th track ‘Sim Sim’ which is a low-key banger. With a catchy hook and three verses, the song takes the listener down a beautiful trip and talks about the universe in the form of a woman. As the album progresses, the protagonist tries to find “the meaning” through various means like work, love and sex (like on the 9th track – ‘Tere Sang’), companionship and spirituality (on the tracks Mere Saath’ and ‘Nada’). On the 12th Track titled ‘Chalta Rehta hai’ Raghav talks about how time never stops for anyone. It is the nature of existence with which we are all bound by. Raghav is optimistic that he is on the right path and gets to terms with death. All things end and it is the ending which makes the journey worthwhile. However these thoughts of separation and existentialism do haunt him from time to time. The album concludes with the final track ‘Aakaash’. Raghav seems to be in a place where he is free and talking directly to a higher power. He seems to be almost complaining about the humans and what they have done out of His creation. As the track progresses, it manifests itself into a dense guitar and drums instrumental which is exciting and engaging and goes on for about 4 minutes.