Atlanta musician Captain Highside — the alter ego of pediatric hematologist Prashant Raghavendran — doesn’t believe in holding fast to genre allegiances. His work highlights the enormous expanses that exist between various aesthetics, the hidden realms of sonic integration and adaptation. By blending aspects of hip-hop, soul, R&B, soft rock, electronic, and folk into a smeared coagulation of tones and contours, he offers a glimpse of the vast landscapes in which his creativity wanders.
Back in November of last year, he released SAGITTARIUS II, a mini-album of modern genre dismantlement, and now he’s readying the release of its twin, SAGITTARIUS I, which is due out tomorrow. This newer one relies on more of a nostalgic sound, one that digs deep into the roots of his influences while providing ample opportunity for rhythmic experimentation.
Today, we’re premiering two new songs from Captain Highside, and we’ll look at “YOU FLOATED ON” first. This track conveys the airy weightlessness of soft summer evenings, people gathered around a small fire lost in remembrance. It has a country twang to it, as his voice swings slowly over an acoustic country gait. It possesses a gentle and graceful appearance, existing to revel in smooth movements while heartstrings are pleasantly strummed.
“‘YOU FLOATED ON’ came entirely from my good friend Caleb Hutson sharing a voice memo with me of a new guitar composition he did on his porch on a sunny morning,” says Raghavendran. “I fell in love with it and heard a wistfulness, a mix of joy and tragedy in reminiscing. I took that feeling and searched my past to find the bittersweetness of remembering the good parts of love after that love is gone. I felt that keeping the song acoustic and in the folk/country tradition with minimal production would add to the sincerity of this message. The video that I shot for this song is done in my home because I felt the only way I could express this feeling visually was to be around comfort and familiarity and to imagine that to be gone.“
Listen below.
Next up is “ASAVARI in 7/4”, an ode to familial influence, as the sounds here are very much informed of the Indian music his parents exposed him to when he was a kid. His vocalizations are free of words but absolutely filled with the density of countless emotions, expressing something which can’t fit into syllables or conjunctive phrases. His acoustic guitar remains at the fore, with strings and buzzing instrumentation serving as effective set dressing. Much like the work of Robbie Basho or John Fahey, so much is conveyed without uttering a single word — it’s a gorgeous testament to the enduring sounds of his youth.
“‘ASAVARI in 7/4’ came from an Instagram conversation with Sagnik Roychowdhury, a guitarist based in Austin who works with Indian music,” he explains. “He sent me a guitar progression that I felt was my opportunity to start visiting my roots more in my music. The vocalizations spilled out of me, and I felt the emotion was served best without lyrics so kept this song that way and just built bass, strings and keys around this. It is a tribute to being Indian and the music my parents raised me on.“
Listen below.
SAGITTARIUS I is due out Jan 16. You can pre-save the album here. Follow him on Instagram.
