Xperience Sessions With Electrik- Pô

RJ Rohit caught up with indie band, Electrik-Pô from France which is a three-piece band made up of musicians from various backgrounds. An incredible band that blends world, jazz, and Balkan music with pop and electronic music.

Arfaaz Kagalwala is an electronic music producer, drummer and the founder of Fuzzy Logic. He handles drums and electronics. Florent Silve, the producer and founder of Free Monkey Records, is on vocals and plays double bass and electric piano. Martin Saccardy, a longstanding collaborator of Ibrahim Maalouf, plays the trumpet.

Imagine Niels Petter Molvaerd’s smooth, ambient electro blended with Massive Attack or Portishead’s thunderous beats. Then throw in some orientalism a la Ibrahim Maalouf and some Balkan-beat-boxing adventures. Electrik- Pô brings to life on stage the synchrony between today’s hyper-urban society and the organic animal that resides within each of us.

The members of the band met during a residency program at l’AMI in Marseille in the summer of 2018, when the project’s seeds were sown. They immediately wrote and produced three singles as well as music videos following that. They gave a one-of-a-kind audio-visual performance at the CHEBEC event in Marseille in 2019 and began producing an eight-track album, “Redemption Road,” in 2020.

Po, which translates to ‘Soul’ in Mandarin, is the name of the panda in the film ‘Kung Fu Panda’ who, against all odds, becomes a kung fu master by accident. The name encapsulates the spirit of serendipity that drew three musicians from disparate backgrounds together. When you add electricity to this mix, you get Electrik-Pô.

The symbolism of this ‘electric’ panda with the body of a Buddha incarnating Strength, Softness, and Peace is reflected in Electrik- Pô’s music.

RJ Rohit struck up a conversation with Electrik- Pô about their musical journey, meaning behind their name and music tour. Check it out below.

–Silviya.Y