As the world hopes to recover from being brought to it’s knees by the pandemic, India is dealing with a plethora of other problems as well. With the passing of a communally divisive bill, followed by bloody riots, the reigning government is in the midst of quelling one of the longest standing protests in Indian history. Various countries plunged into lockdowns of varying intensities, India imposed over a 2-month lockdown on its citizens, restricting people to heavily controlled national media and equally out-of-control Whatsapp news. The truth becomes distorted and the consequences far-reaching. With the future implications of the pandemic unclear, the world is now fighting a war from within their homes. This is the backdrop of Mali’s latest single ‘Age of Limbo’.
It is the first single from Mali’s upcoming debut full length album, Caution To The Wind which will consist of eight tracks. Mali is the alias of Maalavika Manoj, a Chennai born, Mumbai based indie-pop artist. In addition to being an independent songwriter and composer, she has also lent her voice to several films and ad campaigns, working with the likes of AR Rahman, Anirudh Ravichander Harris Jayaraj and several others.
The track is sonically progressive and adds layers upon layers of beats, synths and vocals as you move forward. Foreboding in nature, the sound offers a clear contrast to Mali’s smooth voice which guides us into what humans have in store for the future if they continue the kind of reckless behaviour they’re used to. She welcomes all of us to ‘the age of limbo’ which she again refers to as ‘no man’s paradise’ later in the chorus. The track sees Mali taking another significant step into a new direction of sound, with her 2018 single ‘Mango Showers’ being starkly different from her previous releases.
The single was launched on May 1st 2020 accompanied by a crowd-sourced music video of the lockdown from over 12 different countries. The single along with the rest of the album was written and composed by Maalavika Manoj and produced by Arnob Bal.
Age of Limbo has been released via CD Baby, the largest online distributor of independent music in the world.
