Indian-American musician Karsh Kale dives into his new album 'Dust'

In an industry increasingly driven by algorithms metrics and screens Karsh Kalersquos returns with Dust is embedded in its organic inspiration and process The pioneering IndianAmerican musician and producer known primarily for his experimental tabla playing within electronic music ventures into the fulllength solo album for the first time in a decade However it all started with painting rather than inside a recording stlosudioAfter a trip to Los Angeles in 2023 where conversations with a record label left him disconnected from the evolving language of the music industry Kale chose to step away ldquoIt actually started from not wanting to make an albumrdquo he says Instead he returned to Goa and picked up painting something he hadnrsquot explored deeply before ldquoThe first thing I did was to paint It started to inform this sense of creativity why I ever get inspired to make an albumrdquo Over time he created 28 paintings each one becoming a visual prompt a starting point for sound rather than an accompaniment to it This reversal of process would define DustAlongside painting Kale started to ldquoplay a lot of pianordquo ldquoOrganically I was not looking at my computer screen anymore I felt like I needed a reboot to be reinspiredrdquo What emerged were what he describes as ldquodiary type entriesrdquo shaped by chord progressions and lyrics that reflected his inner landscapeFor five months in New York Kale immersed himself in this process deliberately resisting the pull of digital production Even when he began to formalise the project into an album the ethos remained intact ldquoI still didnrsquot look at the screen I wanted to keep bringing my imagination to the music without thatrdquo In doing so he reclaimed a tactile almost predigital approach to making musicThis method also sparked a deeper question who was he creating for In an era where audience targeting is often central to the creative process Kale moved in the opposite direction ldquoThe big question was who am I making this album for and I just realised that if I make an album for myself as a kid then Irsquom heading in the right directionrdquo That childlike perspective free of expectation unburdened by reception became the albumrsquos emotional compassThe influence of his early years extends beyond mindset into method Kale contrasts the tactile experimentation of the past with the convenience of modern production ldquoWhen I made my first album most of the technology that exists today didnrsquot exist at all There was a lot more experimentation back thenrdquo Instruments had to be learned sounds had to be physically created and ideas had to exist fully in the mind before being executed In contrast he notes how contemporary workflows often begin within the computer ldquoAnd even for me Irsquom guilty of thatrdquo Dust becomes his way of resisting that shift and of returning to a space where ideas are born before they are processedThe past decade has been transformative for Kale both personally and artistically ldquoI turned 50 years old in the past decaderdquo he laughs ldquoTherersquos a lot of wisdom that comes with that A lot of experiences a lot of huge life changesrdquo The album he explains became a way of chronicling these shifts as emotional impressions captured over time The title itself encapsulates this duality of ending and renewal ldquoDust is kind of about surrender Surrendering to the end of erasrdquo It is both a conclusion and a beginning a motif that runs through the albumrsquos lyrical and conceptual core He elaborates through lyrics that anchor the project ldquoI will surrender and Irsquoll be complete when I become the dust the dust beneath your feetrdquoHere dust is acceptance dissolution and rebirth Kale frames it as both the end point and the origin ldquoItrsquos also the place from where the phoenix rises Itrsquos the beginning itrsquos the end itrsquos acceptancerdquo Turning 50 seems to have sharpened this awareness bringing with it a sense of perspective that permeates the album The recently released single Night Turns offers a glimpse into this world In choosing to disconnect from the noise of the industry and reconnect with a more instinctive almost childlike form of creativity Karsh Kale reconnects with making music itself