Around 2002, I listened to almost nothing but A.R. Rahman and a few composers from the Hindi film industry. That was my whole world of music.
While I was studying sound engineering, I made a point of meeting people from the industry. One of them was the composer Ramesh Vinayakam. He was a warm, kind host to a group of newcomers who wanted to get into music, and he asked us one question: "What kind of music do you listen to?"
When I told him, he said: "Do you know how much music is being made in the world right now? How many kinds of genres? Make an effort to listen to all of them."
That was the start of this.
From then until today, I make a point of discovering new and interesting music. There are many genres I do not like, but I still listen, and I still appreciate them. What I respect is the freedom: people everywhere making exactly the music they want to make.
Now it feels like the time to give something back.
There are good ways to stumble on a new artist. Spotify's radio and autoplay, or YouTube's recommendations, can surprise you. But they mostly keep you close to what you already play.
This does the opposite, on purpose. Write down the artist you are stuck on. You get nine artists from the other side of the world, one from every continent, who have nothing to do with the artist you typed. It opens your mind to infinite possibilities.
The look is inspired by vintage electronics, and by the way Teenage Engineering builds its instruments, like the EP-133 K.O. II. I took that spirit, added my own ideas and built this unit. It is our own design, not a copy of anyone's product. If this were a real device, I would buy it.
Prashant Pillai
prashantpillai.com · @iprashantpillai on X