Sijya - Turbine [Video]

Sijya’s “Turbine” feels like entering a world where something ominous is already in motion. Distorted synths and dense, immersive textures create an eerie, brooding, deeply unsettling atmosphere, with mechanical sounds rubbing against something distinctly human. There is little comfort here, and almost no light at the end of the tunnel, which makes the song all the more compelling.

The New Delhi artist first played “Turbine” at London’s Tate Modern, during what was only her fifth or sixth live show and her first performance outside India. She recalls:

“I played this song for the first time at the Turbine Hall. Thristian Richards (Global Roots) had somehow found my music online and invited me to perform at the Tate Modern. It was a wild experience - my first show outside India. It was also only my fifth or sixth show ever, so it was incredible and pretty frightening. Turbine felt like a name that fit the song well. Some of the sounds are what an old turbine sounds like in my head.”

Written during the same creative period as her “Leather & Brass” EP, “Turbine” remained unreleased until now. And while I dig the song’s menacing darkness, I am equally taken by Sijya’s wonderfully open attitude toward the music she makes—and the music that might still be waiting:

“I’m not sure why I didn’t include it the first time around. It’s funny what we choose to put out and what we don’t. It’s a creative decision like any other but looking back it can feel quite random. Maybe my best songs are still in my laptop.”

I love that sentiment. There is confidence in trusting your own creative energy like this: knowing there is already something exciting sitting on your laptop, while leaving room for the possibility that the best might still be ahead. Longtime collaborator Tito directed, shot, and edited the accompanying video, with Ayush as DOP, continuing a creative partnership that grew out of the “Leather & Brass” era.

Enter Sijya’s beautifully unsettling world and listen to “Turbine,” our Song Pick of the Day.

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