Hailing from New York, Praveen Sharma was classically
trained, learning the piano from a young age, before
turning his attention to guitar and drums. He soon developed
an interest for improvisation and electronic music and
began experimenting with computers at the age of thirteen,
which led him to get progressively involved with his
local underground dance scene. He later studied at the
School For Audio Engineering in London. While in England,
the focus of his work shifted from dance music to more
experimental musical forms. Back in New York, he began
recording, while also setting up a live radio show,
Percussion Lab.
Following a handful of appearance on a variety of compilations,
notably for Ai Records and Benge’s
Expending Records, Praveen finally delivers his first
full-length slice of music on UK-based imprint Neo Ouija.
Clocking at just under forty minutes and containing
nine tracks, Backed By Spirits is a truly impressive
debut album and denotes remarkable maturity both at
musical and production levels. Although firmly set on
electronic grounds, the tracks on this album resound
with acoustic percussions and instrumentations. This
allows Sharma to fine-tune each one of his compositions,
placing it in a particular atmospheric context and revealing
the minutest details in each melody on sound component.
If the influence of the likes of Boards
Of Canada, Plaid,
Gimmick or Isan
can clearly be felt all the way through, as much in
Praveen’s texture manipulation as in his focus
on warm melodic electronica, Backed By Spirits
is a truly personal record, with flows of emotions running
through each track. Praveen’s music is essentially
human and organic, and tracks often develop from solitary
elements into magnificent formations. The album opens
with the pastoral A Sad Sad Day, on which Sharma
appears to be experimenting with drones, repetitive
patterns and orchestral consistence all at once. Developing
the pastoral theme over the course of this album, Praveen
refines his soundscapes, at times injecting glitches
or interferences, at others focusing primarily on the
melodic or atmospheric nature of a track, until he almost
returns to his starting point with the intriguing Piano
In A Hurricane.
Although he constantly redefines the context of his
music, Praveen remains within set boundaries from beginning
to end, ensuring total consistency all the way through.
This doesn’t however prevent him for experimenting
or introducing new ideas halfway through. Cecilia’s
Fruit, Real Memories and New Lover
are airier than the more down-to-Earth Melody
or Please Begin and are the most prominent
manifestation of Sharma’s narrative ambition with
this record. Backed By Spirits is both inspired
and inspiring, and a truly impressive and accomplished
debut.
4/5 |
