Brand-new alt-rock outfit, Aatmaa, have just released their very first single, “Hidden Bruises.” The track comes with an official music video, directed and produced by the band’s own Ashwin Deepankar, assisted by videographer Aaron Ehinger. It is the first taste of music off their debut album, Cataclysm, which they release independently on Friday, June 07th, digitally and on vinyl. Check out the new video and more below.
Stream “Hidden Bruises” here: https://linktr.ee/aatmaamusic
“We are very excited to share the first song we have ever made as Aatmaa,” shares the band. ““Hidden Bruises” was written and recorded in our tiny Chicago apartment. Parts of the music video were also filmed in our second bedroom turned home studio. This song is about the victory in running away from whatever or whomever is keeping you from reaching your full potential.”
When Ashwin and Shara Deepankar started Aatmaa — meaning “the soul” in Hindi — during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they viewed the project as an outlet to express (and process) their complex responses to a very fraught period. But as the Chicago-based married couple recorded the dark, intense music for Cataclysm, they landed on a sound that transcended any finite time period and instead reflects on more universal themes: personal upheaval, the emotional toll of loss, and navigating depression and anxiety. A quintessential headphones record, Cataclysm is intimate and dynamic, encompassing moody alternative rock that balances atmospheric arrangements with moments of aggression. Digging deeper, listeners will find detailed layers of sonic texture throughout. Cataclysm often calls to mind Dead Can Dance and The Cure’s sprawling, foggy Disintegration — but there’s a rawer edge to the music that ensures it feels contemporary.
For the first time in their 13-year long relationship, Ashwin (drums, synth, bass, percussion, guitar) and Shara (vocals) decided to make music together. Ashwin, who works as a stage manager and drum tech for large touring productions and has spent more than 15 years on the road in production and as a touring drummer, began by creating a heavy rhythmic foundation using synthesizers and drums, and then added guitars and percussion to keep the songs moving forward sonically before Shara, a behavior analyst who works with families and kids living with autism, shared her thoughts and decided what she was drawn to singing.
More often than not, Cataclysm’s lyrics revolve around loss or what Shara refers to as “little deaths.” These may be a physical death, the loss of things, people, or places, or general changes that come from these losses. The couple, however, wanted to make sure that the lyrics and themes throughout the nine tracks on the self-recorded and self-produced album were relatable outside of the pandemic, with one of the first songs the pair wrote being “Hidden Bruises.” Creating the music for Cataclysm helped the duo combat depression and anxiety through a very uncertain time, and ultimately, they hope their vulnerability will do the same for listeners.
Follow Aatmaa:
https://www.instagram.com/aatmaamusic/