"We can’t stop listening to Mera Bhai’s EP which drops early April…his latest work fuses together glimmers of the past and present into something that feels completely fresh and new, and it’s destined for great things” - DJ MAG
--
Mera Bhai AKA Karthik Poduval, is a multi-instrumentalist, producer & DJ also known as a founding member of Psych band Flamingods & member of the Internal team of Global Asian Underground collective Daytimers.
Born in London, with roots in India, alongside time spent growing up in Italy, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Nigeria, this worldly influence seeps into his unique take on dance music.
Relax Into Yourself sees Karthik taking ownership of his musical legacy of over a decade dedicated to psych band Flamingods and DJing, by fusing these two previously separate lives together by way of melding live sax, keys, and guitar with synths and breaks, acid house bleeps, and huge vocal lines.
Collaborations and features on the record include: Stealing Sheep (Heavenly Recordings, Fire Recordings), Joshua Idehen (Sons of Kemet, Shabaka and the Ancestors, Benin City), Private Joy (Lovescene), Maria Uzor (Sink Ya Teeth), Alex White (Fat White Family), Lawrence Hart (LG105, Anjunabeats, Domino), and more.
Relax into Yourself was originally conceived as a record exploring the themes of self-help and self-care. After a period of grieving 3 recently lost family members, and parting ways with an 8 year relationship, upheaval and change was pronounced for Karthik both personally and artistically, which heavily impacted his writing process and musical evolution, more than just thematically.
"I was sampling self-help audio book cassette tapes from the 80s and 90s and was trying to think about a way to bring these ideas that continued to swirl around in my head, into my music. I grew up reading so much of that stuff, Eckhart Tolle, Robin Sharma, Deepak Chopra, etc. That really filled up a lot of my teenage years, which I guess is quite an unconventional use of one’s formative years.”
The EP’s focus track 'Fire Bun' featuring Joshua Idehen is a low swung chugger with fierce lyrical intent. The track is a call to arms against our capitalistic social and political landscape, with empowerment as the message carried through Idehen’s lyrics.
The track uses Joshua’s fiery bars to siren a message of strength and righteousness in our plight to be happy and stay strong in these tough times. The musical backdrop is very much a statement of intent for Mera Bhai, carving out his own sound. Dubby bass, Hip Hop breaks, Acid House 303 and Jazzy saxophone all come together harmoniously to create Fire Bun. The musical language speaks for itself.
Joshua Idehen is a British-born Nigerian based in Sweden. A spoken word artist and musician, he has contributed poems to Mercury-nominated albums ‘Channel The Spirits’ by The Comet Is Coming, ‘Your Queen Is A Reptile’ and the Mobo winning "Black Is The Future", both by Sons of Kemet. More recently, he formed Calabashed with Alabaster DePlume, a spiritual jazz crew who were recently named a 2021 one-to-watch by NME, and worked with LA electronic maestro Daedelus on the critically acclaimed mini LP, "Holy Water Over Sons". In 2023, he continues his journey as a solo musical artist, collaborating with producer Ludvig Parment (Saturday, Monday) on his mixtape Learn To Swim.
"Obviously as a fan of Karthik’s work on Flamingods this was a no brainer to get involved with. At the time I'd just moved to Stockholm and was going through a real period of upheaval, within and without, with my life and feelings on the world around me in general, and the contrasting moods of the two tracks given to me gave me a space to lay some thoughts out. Done in a day thing.” – Joshua Idehen
Both Karthik and Joshua’s experiences of upheaval and change were mirrored and this synergy channelled into both ‘Fire Bun’ and Relax Into Yourself creates a sense of intensity can be nothing short of a cold hard reality. As Karthik says:
"Being sincere in my music is crucial to me, and it’s also a crucial part of the collaborations that I create”
The build up to Mera Bhai’s forthcoming EP has been met with huge support from DJ Mag, Mixmag, Ransom Note, BBC 6Music, and has been making waves in the top 10 and A list charts at Amazing radio/CMJ USA.
It follows Mera Bhai’s debut EP Futureproofing which was released on Moshi Moshi Records in October 2020 and featured guest appearances and collaborations from Alxndr London, Andrew Ashong, Alex White (Fat White Family) & Charles Prest (Flamingods).
Mera Bhai’s two-year break from releasing music was what he calls an ‘enforced period’ of musical development. His ever-evolving sound takes influence from 80s and 90s House, Detroit techno and Jungle breaks, often borrowing from Classic Bollywood Soundtracks, Tropicalia and Disco. He claims to have a catalogue of music ready to release at this point as he continues to write new material.
Despite his sabbatical from releasing music, Mera Bhai has held regular and guest appearances on: Rinse FM, BBC Asian Network, Melodic Distraction, Trippin World and Worldwide FM. He also played several DJ sets at last year’s Glastonbury Festival, at Tam Tam Festival in Croatia, Wide Awake Festival, and recently for Acclaimed Afro Futurist Collective Fulu Miziki’s one-off London show, as well as with Panjabi MC & Apache Indian in London. Mera Bhai will be playing festivals through the summer.
Additionally, he has also been awarded the PRSF Open Fund for further upcoming releases. Previous awardees include: Actress, Afrodeutsche, Gaika, Wu-Lu, & Sarathy Korwar.
Editors notes:
Mera Bhai is a Hindi greeting which translates to ‘My Brother’ – acknowledging the democratic nature of music and a statement of intent for Mera Bhai in how he positions his relationship with his audience. The welcoming implication speaks to the borderless nature of dance music, both in a global sense, as well as personal. Infused with a wide, authentic cultural understanding and appreciation for the way dance music brings people together democratically.
out on May 19, 2023
via Medina Records
out on February 17, 2023
via Morning Raga Recordings
out on January 12, 2023
via Morning Raga Recordings
out on December 02, 2022
via Morning Raga Recordings
out on October 07, 2022
via Morning Raga Recordings
out on July 26, 2022
via Medina Records