a + eyear :: 2019music by Native Indian
January 1, 2025
label ::
music artist: Native Indian ~ aka: Siva Baskaran
album: Nature of the Self
volume: no. 1
track: Singularity ~ feat. Ray Kurzweil
year: 2019
EMBED
label ::
publication: Mint
story: Jazz, hip-hop as a story-telling tool
read :: story
date:
read :: story
presented by ::
1. |
publication: Mint
web: home ~ channel
banner: The latest news today.
2. |
group: HT Media grp.
web: home
banner: Empowering millions through trusted content every day.
image | below
A photo portrait of music artist Siva Baskaran ~ aka: Native Indian.
An introduction.
On his debut album Nature of the Self rapper + music producer Siva Baskaran — aka: Native Indian — blends jazz, synth-pop, hip-hop, dance music, and samples.
His album is a kaleidoscope soundscape — spanning continents + musical traditions.
This sonic melange sets the stage for Baskaran’s sci-fi exploration of the history of identity + the self. The songs feature Rastafarian robots, post-singularity deities, and a philosopher AI.
He’s based in Chennai, India. An automotive engineer by training, he joined Toyota after he graduated. But he quit soon after to look for work in the music industry. He took-up a job as events manager at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Chennai — before moving to Mumbai, India. He managed some popular indie artists, including Sandunes and Sid Vashi.
quote ::
I’ve always been inspired by non-musical sources like games, comics and films. So I wanted to create this semi-fantasy, semi-realistic story that branched out from all the inspiration that I had kind of gathered over the years.
The only musical education I have had is what I learned from the artists I’ve managed, and hung-out with. Being an artist manager helped me understand the music industry, how it works, who to approach.
— Siva Baskaran
A rich tapestry of sounds.
The Native Indian project was conceived when he was in Mumbai. He wanted to put a band together, but quickly realized he didn’t have time or bandwidth to juggle both his day job and a live music act. So he experimented with electronic production, putting down loops + scratches that drew from the rich — and noisy — tapestry of sounds around him.
He converted loops into full songs, tied together by a loose narrative — inspired by his passion for futurism, science fiction, and philosophy.
quote ::
The sounds I use and the sonic landscape I create are based on what you hear when you walk down the street in India. I draw a balance between something that people from India understand and relate to — and a passage for people from the outside, to come + view our world.
— Siva Baskaran
Inspiration from futurists.
The album has 7 tracks that follow a god-like being from the future — who travels back in time to unearth the roots of his mental + physical conditioning. The works of inventor Ray Kurzweil + philosopher Yuval Noah Harari PhD are important touchstones for Baskaran — who also took inspiration from comic books and his own dreams.
The album was released by the independent Boxout.fm recording label. He’s planning the follow-up. He’s collaborating with comic book artists to visualize his narrative, plus beginning stories for the next record.
quote ::
So each song is a key moment or environment that’s been passed-on to the story’s protagonist — shaping his DNA. On volume 2 — I want to take the characters + the cosmos they live in — and develop the story. Now he understands where his conditioning comes from, so what does he do with that.
— Siva Baskaran
label ::
album: Nature of the Self
volume: no. 1
music artist: Native Indian ~ aka: Siva Baskaran
year: 2019
listen ~ track 1 — After Morning
listen ~ track 2 — Purple
listen ~ track 3 — Non-Believer
listen ~ track 4 — Compassion for Thieves
listen ~ track 5 — Jazz Market
listen ~ track 6 — Singularity ~ feat. Ray Kurzweil
listen ~ track 7 — Disorder
K LOGO MOUSE
webpages
music artist: Native Indian ~ aka: Siva Baskaran
web: channel
platform: BandCamp
web: profile
lyrics ::
track: Singularity ~ feat. Ray Kurzweil
music artist: Native Indian ~ aka: Siva Baskaran
Hello humans.
Rasta robot here from the future.
A human-artificial intelligence teacher.
I’m here to warn you of your behavior.
That’s all I can do — no — can’t be no savior.
In 5 years: you’ll finish modelling the brain.
In 10 years: you’ll have robots playing games.
No more tension from losing your car keys.
You’ll be printing your own digital copies.
No more gardens and 2-bedroom apartments.
Human land will be split into quadrants.
Nano-bots living right in your blood-stream.
A cloud-based cortex on top as the whipped cream.
New scales to measure your life’s quality.
Everyone’s equal in virtual reality.
Chips in your joints and pay in bit-coins.
Ain’t getting [ censored ] if you don’t have the points.
I’m sorry.
I’m sorry humans, not all of you can take it.
The future is near, and not all of you can make it.
You’ve had it while it’s nice, and now you pay the price.
Or take a moment, sit-back and hear my advice.
There’s no value for coal in the future.
You dig some more and put a hole in the future.
Not all of you can afford to get to Mars.
Feel so frustrated, throw some bricks at the stars.
Have you forgotten your one true purpose?
Take what you need and share all the surplus.
The future is full and the seats are limited.
Can’t cope-up if your action is too primitive.
The future is full and the seats are limited.
You can’t cope-up if your action is still primitive.
You can’t cope-up if your action is still primitive.
The future is near.
I see forests and animals in threat.
A whole lot of opinions, not a hint of regret.
Farmlands vacant, your free will taken.
Borders collapsing as middle Earth is shaking.
Singularity is near, don’t you see it?
Got to embrace it, no option to forfeit.
Rasta robot will question your choices.
Rasta robot will speak for the voiceless.
Ray Kurzweil sample begins here.
K LOGO CABINET
notes ::
a + e = arts + entertainment
aka = also known as
AI = artificial intelligence