Arfaaz’s former avatar as a drummer goes a long way in pinning down the signature of his electronic music production. In a time where a lot of electronic music coming out of India is mired in tried and tested “EDM” or “bass music” tropes, Arfaaz stands out, keeping his focus on that which actually makes dance music human - vocals, voltage, and vulnerability.
His recent work - and the Guerilla Monsoon EP in particular - has showcased his capacity for real-time analog synth programming and sequencing, coupled with his distinctive vocal stylings and a penchant for sampling the sounds that surround him. He deploys a delicate means of lending an embedded sense of his Bombay surroundings - the call of a fruit seller in the morning for instance - without falling prey to the cliches of what “Indian” music might appear to mean. It’s a reflection of a certain history, one that propelled and inspired his craft to begin with: performing live in a band, with all the spontaneity of what that entails.
