Artist Of The Week #230 - Mera Bhai
This weeks Artist of the Week is London based multi-instrumentalist, producer & DJ Mera Bhai - who has just released his new EP ‘Relax Into Yourself’ via his own Morning Raga Records imprint.
Mera Bhai is 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.
He took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Mera Bhai- how are you? So your EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
Hello! I’m doing well, I’m in India right now with my partner and my Mum, it’s been a period of much needed rejuvenation. The EP is is out! I almost can’t believe it. I’ve sat with these songs for so long I’ve actually forgotten that people will be hearing them for the first time. I’m excited to hear what people think of them and what the reception to the record as a whole is.
It is called ‘Relax Into Yourself’ - what is the meaning behind that?
The record was written at a time of pretty pronounced upheaval for me. I’d lost 3 family members and parted ways with an 8 year relationship, as well as having to part ways with my therapist of 7 years. I wanted the record to feel a bit like a soundtrack to going through the motions of relaxing into yourself. The idea of it is sweet but in reality there’s a real unavoidable discomfort to it.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
The tracks were almost all recorded and produced in the UK. The demos were formed in London, some of them as early as 2020, these were then taken to PRAH studios in Margate (owned by PRAH Recordings/Moshi Moshi) whereI took a bunch of musicians I have a good working relationship with - Alex White, Charles Prest and Rosa Theodora, and went and laid down a load of live takes for me to then work with and bring the tracks to life. It was really at that moment that I started to realise how important it is to me to have not just an element of playfulness but the live musical aspect in my music. Even though I’ve always had people play for me in studio, this felt quite different having everyone in that space. Having Alex howling down his sax, to mic’ing up amps for Charles to shred on guitar down, to having Rosa just move around the room picking synths or keys to play on felt special in there.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
Influences range from Self-Help books to Bollywood Soundtrack and 90s Hip Hop breaks.The themes are also centred around self-help and self-care.
If the EP could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
I like the idea of it soundtracking a clip of something like Rear Window. I think there’s real moments of suspense where I think would work, it’s also backdropped by an urban landscape, which is very much the world that my music exists in. Musically it’s always important for me to bring together past and present in a really natural/unnoticeable way. I feel like visually this could work
Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP - if so, which one and why?
I’m really blessed to work with so many talented vocalists and singers, it’d be impossible of rme to pick one. Though I do have favourites on every track.
Now the EP is out there - what next?
Stay tuned, I’ve got a lot of music in the pipeline.
