PREMIERE : Hary Shanthi - Kings Of Kings (thePhilosophica Remix)

Les Yeux Orange

King of Kings EP is a reminiscence of a period (1980 - 1991), prior to the economic liberalization of India. A closed economy with nearly 200% tariffs or outright bans on all foreign electronic equipment’s including synthesizers, sequencers, drum machines and computers due to west’s antagonizing behavior towards India for not opening its market for foreign colonial corporate actors. This did not deter musicians to get their hands on the machines despite all the stumbling blocks placed in front of them. Defiance and persistence gave birth to Indian acid and electro synth pop created under our own terms becoming not only father of the machines once we couldn’t own but with our playful ragas giving birth to genres such as acid house. India thus opened another node in the global cultural flows of electronic music. Cumulatively, this period contributed to the triumph of import substitution in cultural production. An attitude was born to why import when we can make it on our own. A major shift in a mind colonised and slaved for 400 yrs. This an honest attempt to show the world, how Indian musicians undeterred by barriers made their own mark with western synthesizers and drum machines while staying true to their ethnic identity. A period of Computer Love. “King of Kings” which translates literally from Tamil (Rajadhi Raja) is a true endeavor to demonstrate to the world how Indian musicians have overcome racial and political boundaries to achieve their sonic mission of expressing our artistic autonomy filled with purpose, perseverance and avant-garde excitement. A musical piece that aims to represent the idea, “In order to become who you are, you need to first overcome who it is they said you are”. A true King of Kings. Remixes come from analogue master and self-proclaimed synth fetishist, Italo Brutalo and multi-cultural musical trifinium thePhilosophica.