Melodic Ancestral Prayers: Telemakus Interviewed

“Eight silver rings curl around my finger joints. They sleep with me, consume with me, have fun with me,” states Nu-Jazz genius TelemakusThe Indian-American artist’s most recent album,’8 Ring Revivalis a jubilant event of how he’s progressed as a pianist and a manufacturer given that his Ehlers-Danlos medical diagnosis entirely modified his capability to make up.

One night, as he was experiencing a flare and could not play himself, he had the concept to construct the tune over the phone by performing his buddy note-by-note, chord-by-chord. That session became a newly found principles based in cooperation, trust, and discovering to play piano with his toes.

‘Eight Ring Revival’ is jazz-fusion at its core; manufacturing funk, hip-hop, and surrealist devotional textures. Together with a stacked ensemble of artists, Telemakus jubilantly checks out brand-new measurements of this capability and noise while honouring the ancestral understanding bestowed unto him– be it hereditarily or culturally. It’s obvious on tracks like ‘2054’, which was initially entitled ‘HerbieRiem’, as it sonically envisions his heroes Herbie Hancock and J Dilla conference. Telemakus explains the whole procedure of developing this album as something transported through him by spirit; his partners, toes, and 8 silver-rings as simple avenues.

The Bay Area-born artist took a seat with CLASH to go over ‘Eight Ring Revival’.

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How are you today?

I was tired after I returned from New York, however I saw many films the other day that I feel great.

Can I ask what motion pictures you enjoyed?

I enjoyed this motion picture, Past Lives (2023), and after that Dìdi (2024). My good friend really scored. It was great.

Have you ever scored anything previously, or would you do it in the future?

Yeah, I did really. My very first main scoring of a brief movie was by my buddy Matt Kim called My Father Was A Footballer. It’s a truly spectacular brief documentary about his daddy, who pursued expert football– soccer– in Korea and it altered his life. He sort of matured alone with his brother or sisters in LA, in Orange County. Scoring that was fantastic. It seemed like leaping off a cliff since I had no concept what I was doing. Every chord I play or any texture I make will alter the entire scene, and I’m entering my buddy’s individual life and story. I informed it with a lot of grace, and it took time, however I really utilized a tune from the album. That’s the very first scene of it.

Mentioning your album, ‘Eight Ring Revival’ how have you felt considering that launching it out into the world?

It feels surreal. I’m taking my time to process it, however I’m so grateful. The more I sit with the album and see it being out, I do not seem like I made the album. I seem like my forefathers, or spirit, or my motivations directed me– particularly with the health journey. Seeing it impact individuals is simply extremely humbling and truly psychological. I was simply in New York and I would simply be sobbing. I’m so California-coded that existing felt so overstimulating. I like it, however dropping an album when you’re there was brand-new to me. I see it taking a brand-new life in other individuals’s lives.

This album is as much a rediscovery of self as it is a musical structure. What was that journey like developing this album while browsing your health journey with Ehlers-Danlos?

Now that it’s out, I can actually review the reality that like, wow, I did that. When I reflect on how I produced it, what shocked me was my own determination truly. My genuine name is Abhay. I do not actually expose that much, however it suggests courageous. Recently, I’ve been truly feeling that; how I really took a courageous method to this music. The most stunning part that I’m still reeling from, is that all my heroes simply assembled onto the album in a natural method. Dealing with Liv.e and Karriem and all my good friends here in LA, to have a neighborhood like that genuinely raise me up is such a terrific experience.

I believed a lot about the concept of time travel. Specifically with my health journey, there’s various phases of healing. You want to that future self with hope. I will improve. Now I’m attempting to go to that previous variation of myself and raise him up more. Like on the tune, ‘By Any Feet Necessary’, that’s where Karriem goes into the album. To me, it’s like a homage to myself. Like, “Hey, male. That tune you made with your feet, Karriem is holding your hand through that.” I’ve gone into a river of imagination in LA, with a lot of fantastic buddies and partners. I’ve been working a lot with Groove, this fantastic manufacturer. He’s done a great deal of Smino’s things. I seem like he breathes back life into my imagination. I liked dealing with my buddies Curran and Raghav– who are on the album– and sending out things to Demae. On the psychological idea, I’ve been journaling a lot to get those sensations out. Nature assists. I live by the mountains in LA, so I go there a lot to centre myself.

That’s lovely, and thank you for sharing that about your name. Mentioning you working together with Liv.e on the track ‘Toes and Ringsthis was the very first time you sang lead vocals by yourself tune. What was that experience like?

Yeah, I would state scary a bit to be put in that position. I was in fact conserving ‘Toes and Rings’ for Fousheé. I simply enjoy her voice. My bro and I had a session and he’s like, “You have to sing on 3 of the tunes.” And I’m like, “Shit …” Working with Liv.e, she informed me to simply treasure the shyness, and it made me feel fine to be a shy young boy. Somebody like Clairo for instance, there’s a shyness to her voice which design of indie music. I brought this tune back home. I’m such an instrumentalist-producer, so whenever I sing it ends up being background vocals even when I attempt to do lead vocals. This time, I simply attempted to kind of belt the voice.

My good friend Salami Rose Joe Louis provided me suggestions early on about how to blend vocals; that if you feel shy, you must simply include more layers of your own voice and pan them. I simply improvised lyrics, comparable to the method Ari would do, which is simply stating whatever came to me right away, kind of like freestyle singing. I took a great deal of suggestions from various vocalists and dealt with many individuals. And after, I began truly singing lead vocals that makes up a great deal of my next album. I do not understand how much I’m attempting to expose.

I enjoyed that you freestyled the vocals. The spontaneity of freestyling completely sits at this crossover of jazz and hip-hop, and the combination of those noises come through so plainly in your music.

Thank you. I’m so delighted when I’m making things and I enjoy that it stumbles upon on the album. I’ve matured in the U.S. however my moms and dads immigrated from India. My father’s side is likewise from Mauritius, and I believe that adds to my balanced combination. I feel really linked to that part of my heritage. A huge part of why I believe I’m so drawn to Black music in basic, is what my bro and my godfather instilled in me. My bro revealed me John Coltrane, and all these terrific tunes when I was truly young. My godfather Uche Anyanwu was from Nigeria and matured in New York. It seems like he raised me culturally, discreetly. He revealed me Gang Starr, Guru, and a great deal of that jazz-hip hop crossway. He’s my hero. He died when I was 12, so I seem like whatever I do now is a homage to him and what he would listen to.

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It’s amusing you bring that up, since I matured in Delaware around Donald Byrd who worked together with Guru on the’Jazzmatazz’ albums. I matured listening to the Blackbyrds, and Art Blakey, simply from him and my daddy being so close. Culturally, particular individuals raise you that might not be blood associated.

That’s so dope! No, it’s quite wild. My bro and I have actually been discussing how you can simply pick your forefathers. Like, I wish to select Alice Coltrane to be my forefather. I’m gon na hope to her, and speak with her and do this for her. I have these sorts of “mashups” in my head. Like, what if Alice Coltrane satisfied Dilla on that wave of devotional beats. Dilla’s beats are currently devotional, however what if it leaned more into Alice on that? It’s a bit more surreal. And I do believe my album has those “mashups”. J Dilla and Alice Coltrane have actually been big motivations recently. I absolutely resonate with that.

Can you determine a memory of when you initially viewed a jazz artist live?

There’s 2 that enter your mind. I keep in mind around the time my bro initially discovered Coltrane, we would go to Mountain View and stroll. As soon as, we saw a poster of Monterey Jazz Festival. I was most likely 5 or 6, and my moms and dads brought us to the celebration. I keep in mind seeing Dr. Lonnie Smith play the organ. It was so life-altering to see him carry out. The coolest thing was getting to see him backstage and he hugged me as if he understood me. I was such a child! I remember he smelled actually excellent. The other one that truly impacted me was for my sibling’s 10th birthday. We went to Yoshi’s in Oakland, an excellent place. We saw Stanley Clarke, Lenny White and Hiromi. They had a trio. Lenny playing drums, that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I was so enamoured by it. Due to the fact that we were so young, they let us backstage there too. Yeah, they simply would bring us as if this is the hang for the infants. Those are the coolest individuals ever.

Going back to your album, can you likewise talk to the innovative instructions behind your visuals– the visualizers, videos, and album cover?

I believe my buddies understand I’m such a sound guy, so visuals do not constantly come naturally to me. I was fortunate to discover early on in my previous album Dohee Kwon, @kimchisuperpower on Instagram. She did the art work for my last record, which simply made me understand I’m constantly going to do lively colours. That is a part of my heritage, you understand, growing up experiencing the Holi celebrations where you sprinkle colour on each other. Being in touch with that vibrancy, like that is who I am. Ari and I are close. She’s an innovative director and she comprehends my music so deeply. For the album cover, it was her concept for me to be on it. I sent her some images, then she took one and made an extremely rough cut of it. My buddy Jamie, @flatspot_ on Instagram, developed it. I rely a lot on buddies like Ari, Mackai Sharp– who directed the majority of the videos– and Abe. Even my mother, who’s a painter. My concepts are far reaching, so I seem like I have a group of individuals who will assist filter it.

Mentioning Sparklmami, I simply wish to highlight her and Mndsgn on this album– 2 of my preferred partnerships on there.

Yes! I’ve admired Mndsgn for several years, maturing in the beat scene. To have him on my album is an honour. I keep in mind the very first time I fulfilled Mndsgn, I would go to his home and at the time I had actually simply discovered Sparklmami. I keep in mind informing him he need to examine her out, and I didn’t even understand her. It’s cool how naturally they ended up being more hip to each other, then me and Ari got truly close and bonded over FaceTime. It’s been 2 and a half years however it seems like a long period of time being her bestie.

What tune off the album are you most delighted to bet audiences when you go on trip?

It’s hard to select one however I ‘d state ‘Five Hands Pt. 1’ and ‘Hands Rejoice!’. Those are truly enjoyable to play. ‘Hands Rejoice!’ due to the fact that it’s simply very catchy. My thing with the devotional element is likewise finding out how to make a tune that’s actually memorable, however that’s likewise truly understanding in some way; where it’s stuck in your head however it’s a caring tune. I wished to ask you, how does the entire album feel to you? What does it make you feel?

I feel it in my feet, like I can’t sit still while listening. There’s a great deal of delight, a great deal of dancing. It likewise feels rejuvenating, like taking in a deep, complete breath and exhaling.

You’re gon na make me weep.

Well, how does it sound to you?

It sounds actually fresh, which is insane. In some way I do not get tired of it. I’ve not had that sensation with things I’ve dealt with. My household sees me listening to it a lot, and they’re like, “Why are you still listening to it?”. I enjoy the track ‘Holy Matrimony’. Tallulah Rose is a fantastic vocalist and I seem like me and her will make a truly terrific album. She’s out in Europe. Her singing on that tune is so touching to me. I’m so moved by it.

How do you hope this album is gotten by others?

I hope it’s gotten how it’s gotten. I do desire the album to boost individuals; to advise them that their imagination is actually effective. Rather of resembling, “Wow, take a look at Telemakus, and what he did”, I desire individuals to seem like they can do this too. I desire individuals to get this work as a caring gesture, a suggestion of their own intimate relationship with the music and the spirit behind it.

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‘Eight Ring Revival’ is out now.

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