The sound of Tarang Joseph’s new EP is a surprise to me, transitioning into an 80s disco artist, someone who would fit right into a bar from a Baz Luhrmann film, a post-modern Grease spin-off or things on similar lines. The “liquid sunshine” EP is an experiment in optimism, a work in more hopeful tonalities, even though it works itself into corners of demure sentimentalities. Joseph describes the EP as “sun-soaked”, which is an appropriate descriptor for the same.
Talking about his influences, he states, “From late 2022 to the summer of 2023, I immersed myself in a mix of classic disco and 80s music. I was drawn to the iconic sounds of artists like Michael Jackson and Jamiroquai, as well as modern takes of NuDisco from groups like Parcels and Franc Moody.During this time, I also had Silk Sonic’s album on repeat, and their revival of 70s soul in a contemporary context really inspired me. I wanted to do something similar with 80s-inspired sounds, blending them with modern house music and nu-disco elements, but with an emphasis on live instrumentation. The goal was to create something that felt both nostalgic and fresh, capturing the essence of the past while pushing the sound forward.”
A lot of it is a reworking of influences, one can hear Joseph negotiating his sonic identity throughout the EP. It is indeed a laborious task, especially when one tries to redefine themselves musically – and work with music consumption as the launch-pad for redefinition. He is toeing the line of immersion, almost, with all the tracks on the EP. At some points, he sounds like he is unconvinced, that he can pull it all off. Although he does, quite well, for the most part.
The EP begins with take me away — an upbeat number, with a fun bassline — one that pairs with Joseph’s vocals really well. The production really works around 1997 Daft Punk-esque production, maybe something off of Homework. Lyrically it plays around the theme of a seductive love interest, who derails the protagonist off of his chartered path. This is a narrative arc in the record, the progression of this dissuasion of a love affair. Joseph contextualizes the next track, my favourite, as follows : “Inspired by the novel the Alchemist, where a young boy meets a girl he falls in love with in the desert while in search for his treasure, but knows he must leave her to resume his hero’s journey, “my favourite” is a tale of a heartache, as we encounter the familiar feeling of moving on due to circumstances and the time not being right.” There is a sojourn-esque storytelling on this record, a Paul Atreides in a Chevy, perhaps. The artist lends his own voice the smooth quality you would find on some Weeknd numbers, especially in his Blinding Lights era.
The third track, make it right, is a disco RnB one, and fields a good percussive element at the listener. It is pleading, yet confident in terms of its courting the love interest in the narrative and has the singer growling at a juncture, which is entertaining, and satisfies one’s desires / expectations of a retro project. The last track, liquid sunshine, which also lends the record its name is perhaps the one I am most partial to. While it coheres the aura of the record sonically, it also has some of the most interesting production on the entire project. It layers, distort, and explores more than its predecessors, and leaves you desirous of more interesting experimentation from the artist.
Overall the EP has a vision, has sonic and visual aesthetics it sticks to, and is well composed and produced. It would be more intriguing for the artist to venture out of the safe areas he knows he can do well in, and get braver in terms of what he creates. This is more praise, than criticism, of this record, in all honesty.
