Old machines and introspective electronica on Sijya's new EP

Sijya’s sophomore EP, which released in September, is out now on UK-based One Little Independent (OLI) Records. Her signing was thanks to a fortuitous Instagram DM from British-Asian electronica innovator Talvin Singh. It’s the same label that has supported pop music pioneer Björk since day one.

Delhi-based Sijya wanted Leather & Brass to sound like old machines. Her family working in the leather and brass industry was an inspiration. An industrial rigour is palpable on the six tracks, with sparsely intelligible vocalising and droning synthesisers. The result is downtempo noise music filtered through a Warp Records (Aphex Twin, Oneohtrix Point Never) sensibility with a trip-hop twang. What sounds like swishing and sloshing of machine parts is most likely electronic drums that were routed through analogue pedals and recorded again into a computer in Sijya’s porta cabin home studio. As you let distant synths and warm bass wash over you, you might find yourself in the warehouse of your mind.

During her India tour last month in support of the EP, Sijya would take the stage alone with a minimalist electronic setup. She performs a hybrid set, half-live, the other half played from the Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). “I’ve seen artists like Yaeji and Charli (xcx). They don’t even play anything. They just go on stage with a mic and there is no pretence that all of this is electronic. There is no performing it live, like a band." She has recently performed at London’s Jazz cafe, Jack White’s record store, and Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. She’ll play at Lollapalooza at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Racecourse early next year.

Not only does Sijya prefer performing solo, she also collaborates on music from a distance, as opposed to sharing studio space with fellow artists. This practice stems from early memories of gender discrimination; she recalls school music rooms being “male spaces". “Jamming feels like a very ‘bro’ thing. Girls are just expected to sing."

She does, however, feel a camaraderie with fellow indie musicians such as Rounak Maiti, Dolorblind and philterSoup, who also create introspective electronic-led music. Sijya has co-written music with Maiti and Dolorblind and featured on some of their tracks. Her DJ mixes for dance-music tastemakers such as Crack magazine and NTS Radio will garner more international listeners for this particular scene with tracklists featuring these peers.

Sijya says she wants two things from the Indian indie ecosystem: venues that last more than a decade, and a booming live listening culture. She laments the loss of Boxout.fm, a crucial platform for electronic musicians, that consistently staged gigs in Delhi until a couple of years ago. She names hyperpop pioneer SOPHIE and Björk producer Mark Bell as dream collaborators, both late British artists. Sijya’s own music gives a sense of constant, restless searching, encapsulated by a line on Rust: “I’m looking for other ways to be, there’s other ways from here."

Arunima Joshua is a Mumbai-based journalist and writer.