On her new EP, It’s all a monotonous game, Sanoli Chowdhury delves into indistinct thoughts and feelings hovering in the unexplored regions of her mind. She refers to it as “subconscious awareness.” She then weaves her discoveries into ambient soundscapes dripping with melancholy and susceptibility.
Based in Bangalore, India, Sanoli grew up playing fingerstyle guitar. Later, she released her debut EP, The Futile Search for Elegance, a lo-fi bedroom production, followed by stepping back from music for a short time. Now she’s returned with a five-track collection of haunting songs via United Sound Records.
The songs on It’s all a monotonous game represent musical disclosures, imminent and intimate, revealing the cost imposed by the whims of love. Sanoli told Wild City, “I do hope [the EP] evokes a sense of acceptance by its listeners; life is messy and that’s its beauty.”
The EP commences with “Tortured By Sounds,” opening on delicate, drenching guitar colors topped by Sanoli’s rich, crystalline voice. Shimmering synths imbue the tune with washes of accents, as the fragile bassline and clicking percussion establish the rhythm.
“A Lie That We Lived Together” rides gently glowing flavors, akin to floating. Reflective and a little sad, Sanoli’s poignant tones infuse the lyrics with regret and nuances of mysterious potential. “Dear Carol,” travels on a softly fluctuating guitar riding the muscle of crunching drums, thus providing two delicious layers of juxtaposed coloration.
“With Him” features trickling guitar tones atop the syncopated thump of a kick-drum, like the throbbing of a heart. The diaphanous textures of the guitar infuse the tune with dreamy foams of mellow hues. Elusively nostalgic and wistful, Sanoli’s voice injects the lyrics with pale melancholy borne on tantalizing wisps of recollection.
“Voice Notes Sent By You” exudes hints of jazz, along with alternative dream-pop elements. A heavy kick-drum and snapping sidestick extend the rhythmic pulse as undulating harmonic ripple overhead.
Unhurried and gorgeously wrought, It’s all a monotonous game delivers captivating melancholy on the haunting voice of Sanoli Chowdhury.
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