Ape Echoes
Paraphoniks
Tre Ess x The Mellow Turtle

Ape Echoes:-
Formed in the midst of the nascent Indian independent music scene, Ape Echoes is the frankensteinian brainchild of Bombay-based producers and multi-instrumentalists, Nirmit Shah and Sid Shirodkar. The pair frequently combine traditional acoustic and electronic instrumentation with experimental sampling - weaving together an immersive if sometimes chaotic musical narrative. The duo formed in early 2016 and drummer Sahil Shah joined the duo soon after. Guitarist Harsh Gadhvi joined in the initial legs of the release tour in 2017.
Their debut EP, ‘Ape Machines’, was released in August 2017 and alternately moves through territories influenced by crossover-jazz, electronica, noise, hip-hop, prog-rock, funk, and soul. Since then, they have performed in multiple cities across India including major festivals such as NH7 2017 + 2018 (Pune, Shillong & Kolkata), Magnetic Fields and Future Theory Festival.
Paraphoniks:-
Paraphoniks is amongst a handful of independent artists to have broken through the increasing synthesizer craze in India. Having evolved into an increasingly genre-agnostic project, Shatrunjai Dewan and Sid Shirodkar have embraced various forms of electronic music through sonic experimentation and their shared love of modular synthesizers. Their debut album, Handwired, written by Shatrunjai and original founding member Aman Nath is characterised by a sound that was raw but lush. After Aman’s exit, Shatrunjai brought in Sid and both of them together released their critically acclaimed 5-track EP, Yarns in 2016. It was stylistically different from Handwired, and as Red Bull Music put it: a ‘dreamy synth pop nugget that's playful and imaginative'. The duo promoted Yarns with a string of audacious surround-sound shows that featured their music in an 8.1 Channel incarnation. While most of the raw material for ‘Silhouettes’, their latest offering, was written over a few weeks spent in the Himalayan hills in 2017, the concept of the album evolved from the duo's fascination with modern-day cults and quasi-religious movements. Silhouettes featured a non-linear narrative that retained the synth-heavy sound for which the duo is known for. The album features collaborations with singer-songwriter Azamaan Hoyvoy and drummer Sahil Shah who are also part of the 4-piece live ensemble. 'Vacillate' that features the former and 'Silhouettes', the title track have been listed on Apple Music’s The A List and Charting Now playlists. 'Rubicon', the opening track on Silhouettes will be re-released in 2019 by French label, Nowadays Records. Paraphoniks ended 2018 on a high with performances at the prestigious Magnetic Fields Festival and a co-headlining tour of India with Napoleon Gold from Luxembourg.
Tre Ess:-
Tre Ess aka Sumit Singh Solanki is an upcoming producer and MC from Ranchi, Jharkhand. Starting out as a drummer, he performed at multiple local shows before getting into music production after being introduced to FL Studio at a young age. With a little help from a local producer he really got into creating his own type of sound. After releasing a couple of singles he began working on releasing a full length project. Using his producer mentality at being a rapper; he wanted to have a different approach towards rap by never picking a lyrical theme. In his words “every song’s lyric since my first EP (All Before Dawn) is in a stream of consciousness guided by the beats”. Having released two EP’s, Tre Ess worked as the Executive Producer for his friend and colleague and another talented artist from Ranchi, Jharkhand, called MellowTurtle on his full length album. The two had in the past featured on each other’s work and had worked together on their collaborative EP “Blues off the Ashtray”.
Despite limited exposure, Tre Ess’s music has been appreciated outside the country. His music has Indian elements that are very rare for listeners outside this country to hear and as a producer he’s always trying to put together the best of both worlds with every song designed to surprise the listener.
The Mellow Turtle:-
Melancholy and confusion fills his mind as he shuttles between being an entrepreneur, social worker and musician. The same is reflected in The Mellow Turtle’s compositions as he amalgamates various genres and sounds to create downtempo bluesy tracks. Turtles are a symbol of longevity, endurance and persistence which are reflected in the constant releases The Mellow Turtle has been part of. His first EP “Elephant Ride” was in collaboration with Jayant Doraiburu who is one of the leading musicians and producers in the Jharkhand circuit. His second EP “Blues off the Ashtray” was in collaboration with rapper and producer Tre Ess.
This EP was released in early 2017 and then re released by Nrtya. He then released a ten track experimental album “Dzong” with Tre Ess as the executive producer. TMT believes that any form of art has a therapeutic effect. Composing, listening, learning and teaching music is a big part of his existence. He is currently planning to set up a music studio for St. Michales School which is a school for visually impaired students.