KALTBLUT caught up with Sandunes ahead of the release of her album “The Ground Beneath Her Feet”, a daring yet homely release asking the questions we’ve all asked ourselves ever so often. Not confined to a single genre; rather, it is guided by Sanaya’s feelings and contemplation on the transformation of identity, with a focus on femininity and the contemporary era. Within the lively, electronic auditory terrain, one can find resonant jazz elements, idealistic synthesizer instances, and rhythmic percussion that seems to dance.
Read our conversation with Sandunes, aka Sanaya, below.
KALTBLUT: Tell me about your upcoming release.
Sanaya: “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” – is my upcoming album, and a very collaborative work that has been in the pipes during the pandemic. There are two sides to the album that represent two distinct worlds I wanted to separate – the A side as an analogy of above the ground, and the other as that of below the ground.
The A side represents my work as a producer and composer, where I explore vast soundscapes without confinement, resisting the restrictive notion of adhering to a single genre or stylistic area. This traditional categorisation often serves a marketable and capitalistic purpose in presenting work to an audience, a framework I was actively striving to reject.
I see the B side as “below ground”, because my role there is more of one holding space and connecting the dots between various collaborators, vocalists, and storytellers.
This work is a sort of sonic compendium of various iterations of home, nomadism, uncertainty, and finding ourselves through community and ritual.
The name was inspired by a reconciliation with the delicacy of our planet, its finely balanced ecosystems, the gradual loss of natural soundscapes like bird calls, and the seemingly irrational pace of development. This inspiration emerges despite the widespread availability of information that highlights these issues.
The ground beneath our feet – is shared, and it’s fragile, it’s precious, and often unacknowledged.
This thought line can often get bleak – but it’s a reminder to look to the earth, in a tangible and integrated way – and to do more of that which connects the earth and the body.
The ground beneath our feet – is shared, and it’s fragile, it’s precious, and often unacknowledged.
KALTBLUT: You’re aiming to celebrate and reward individualism with your album. What do you mean by that, and how does it come across in your music?
Sanaya: Not quite! I’m endeavouring to critique and reveal an alternative to hyper individuation with this album.
Currently, music technology is in an incredible place but also one that can convince the individual you can do everything alone – write, compose, produce, distribute and market your music.
The combination of factors such as the devaluation of live music, issues stemming from streaming platforms, and the influence of celebrity and influencer culture has constructed a framework that promotes the idea of the individual producer as the ideal model in music creation. To me, this trend appears quite tragic, as it seems to overlook the collaborative and diverse nature that music can embody.
I think technology will create lots more opportunities for us to choose personal leisure over collective involvement, and that feels like it is yielding a more disconnected, intolerant and fragile world – lacking in resilience and integration.
My album is the first in what I think is a big shift for me towards the collective – wanting to write and create around collective voices, collective issues and be in tune with collective spirit.
Collaboration being key to that process, the album is pushing against the narrative of individualism being rewarded so consistently.
For me this was something that really played out in the pandemic – a very isolated and depressing time, where music-making was a living thread keeping me connected to other’s, and the album is the result of those connections.
Collaboration being key to that process, the album is pushing against the narrative of individualism being rewarded so consistently.
KALTBLUT: Would you say your music is political?
Sanaya: My music is political. I’m deeply conscious about the process of my music making and for me – the approach to that is probably where my politics are most expressed – how diverse is the room, what are the power dynamics, how much space is made for the people involved and how as working artists we have to – against all odds – continue to value art and music, and put our money where our mouths are. Music after all, is a process and not really a product – so that part of it is almost more important for me.
The older I get, the more impossible it gets to write and create without reflecting the world and the environment that the work is created in. I personally take this as a sign of being more integrated and feeling a more reified sense of belonging.
In the results too, I’m constantly finding my way towards pointing in a direction without patronising a listener – I personally gravitate towards music which doesn’t necessarily tell you how to feel – but leaves room for filling in the gaps with imagination, emotion, and empathy – I think that’s what I keep trying to do with my work. Those parameters keep shifting, and the more collective the process is, the deeper the indentations it leaves behind.
The older I get, the more impossible it gets to write and create without reflecting the world and the environment that the work is created in.
KALTBLUT: How does culture intersect with your artistic work?
Sanaya: In my eyes, art, and music tend to have the ability to create cultures of conscious participation, inclusion, collectivism – it’s why they’re such important barometers of a healthy society and why they deserve to be shielded from unhinged consumerist/capitalist objectives…
I think my own cultural history which is informed by a post-colonial, urban, middle-class, minority community Indian upbringing, amongst several other threads – is something I’m always drawing from – both consciously and subconsciously.
Stream Sandunes’ album “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” here and follow her on Instagram at @sandunesmusic to keep up with upcoming shows and releases.
Photos by @sumaiapapaia
You can revisit all Cultural Connection interviews at #TheCulturalConnection here.
