Koushik on NPR’s Day to Day

“Fluent In Multiple Genres” (Audio)

Christopher Johnson NPR Day to Day October 17, 2008

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Ever met one of those "both sides of the brain" people? That's Koushik. Yeah, he's an artist juggling a trillion musical ideas. He's even got a masters degree in ethnomusicology.

Then there's his other masters degree - the left brain one, in biostatistics. Koushik's been into math since he was a teenager, even though he sees that as a mixed blessing.

"Most math people I know are lunatics! But math people are less susceptible to putting things in categories," he says. "I don't really think of 60s rock vs 70s rock, I guess. A lot of things are just music, or sound."

Koushik's parents, who emigrated from Calcutta to Ontario in the 1960s, had him studying classical Indian music when he was a boy.

Koushik also got a good dose of dance music thanks to his older brother, a successful techno producer. As he grew up, Koushik's own tastes spread out to all sorts of rock, and to rap music.

His first full-length, Out My Window isn't just the sign of an eclectic record collection begging to be mined for samples.

On the record, Koushik shows off his pallet, flexing his fluency across genres. Melted over top of it all are Koushik's breathy vocals. The air behind his lyrics somehow chills out even the heaviest beats. He says his vocals snap into place and work so well - almost like another instrument - because of the way he puts his songs together.

"The lyrics - some of them were written in a strange way, whereas - lines here, lines there, and the lyrics just came out of the tracks," he says. "Right now I'm in disbelief that it worked out in the end, that the vocals fit the music."

The chill out factor in Koushik's mood music comes partly from the great outdoors. He's no recluse, but Koushik likes to spend time alone roaming the mountains near his home in upstate Vermont, which helps keep his head clear.

"One of the biggest challenges as a musician is keeping that clear brain when you are working on stuff. Almost drawing a blank, and just going from there."

Koushik is already going big time - at least in underground hip hop circles. His rep has grown over the last several years thanks largely to underground mix tapes. His record company - the LA-based label Stones Throw - has helped draw in lots of fans keen on Koushik's ecclectic rap and funk infusions.

Koushik is all A game on Out My Window. The former math nerd serves up a warm and dense ethereal trip that'll have you floating in no time.

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