According to khokkosh a.k.a. Yashomati Parveen, this is an electronic album presented with a pop lens and I would tend to agree. Just because the material and the way it’s presented on this body of work is capable of stabbing you sensorially – something I particularly love – shouldn’t make it otherwise. Terming this album as merely experimental, which no doubt it is, is very surface level. In fact, most themes on this album aren’t just popular topics of discussion but a lived reality for many of us. Be that gender based violence, the voyeuristic obsession with staying up to date with someone else’s digital life or one’s gripe with the idea of fame and what comes with it. It’s sad but true and it’s also true that Pop Music doesn’t necessarily have to be shimmery and approachable. Sometimes it can just, come at you, violently.
The garb of the album which its most obvious feature, may feel threatening. The <a href="https://cinemamix360.com/2026/09/20/federal-tax-incentive-hopes-to-keep-film-production-in-u-s/” title=”Federal tax incentive hopes to keep film production in U.S.”>production is sharp and doesn’t spare you with simplicity. The accompanying songwriting is intuitive not drawing from any formulaic designs. This allows khokkosh an extreme amount of latitude to take creative swerves that seem to organically bloom then have you realise that it was structured to be so. But if you allow yourself to get past your initial reaction to just how ridiculous this album sounds, I guarantee that your body will know how to move to the complexity. ‘Oh, to be the sand in your litterbox’ is one such song which uses its opening synth as an undeniable entry point to the rest of of the song, for you to interact with. Its all very ADHD, because there’s so much going on that you can choose to zoom in on any one facet and still feel tethered to the rest of it. The song talks about the pitfalls of chasing fame and its accompanying doubts, qualms, pretense, general unease and is summed up beautifully by the line,‘please give me all your telephone rings, green tint in your saccharine kiss, breathe deep while you hold my hand’.
Similarly ‘dialin” which is written on a five, opens with a very unsettling 8 bit synth, sounds like its trying to move while being suffocated. The dissonance washes away quickly as khokkosh begins singing. Based on the 5-4-3-2-1 coping technique for anxiety, khokkosh begins describing what she sees and feels in her immediate environment and then moves to describe smell of misfortune and taste of blood of those lost to it. She is able to swiftly broaden the scale of her surroundings as thought to say that mental health is not just a cumulative of our immediate surroundings but also the larger world we live in. The state of the world is not outside of our purview, but an inseparable part of our existence. To better understand this line of writing it’s important to realise that the artist was raised in a purely digital age. The exposure to information and people of all kinds is not just a tool to be used but an extension of their lives.
Despite being an intuitive producer and songwriter, this fact also plays into her ability to naturally navigate the largely software sonic landscape she crafts for herself through the album. Be it leads or pads or any sound used, it feels crafted for the occasion. the track ‘HE DOESN’T LOVE YOU IF HE DOESN’T LET YOU NIBBLE ON HIS OBLONGOTA’ opens with a sample almost sounding like a robot malfunctioning because it was asked a question it couldn’t process. It may or may not work in any other context but certainly does here. In fact a lot of the sounds do sound like some chance encounter rather than a planned expedition. This is obviously extending on to all the facets of her craft. The melodies border on conversational but having some semblance of pitch and this made entering her world way more easier, than any amount of overt and extreme processing could.
The writing is immersive and is the centre piece around which this whole album is staged. It is sensorial and prefers to be so even at the cost of not seeming to making sense in some instances. This is what makes the album more personal, that a part of it can only be understood in totality by the writer herself. It could leave the listeners feeling mysterious or confused. I think it’s cool to actually not explain or make yourself clear about what you’re talking about. Sometimes things don’t naturally make sense to some and that’s ok. It shouldn’t be the artists burden to always explain their creativity or subject matter in terms logic. Sometimes a set of words used in the right sequence can leave an emotional impression and thats more important than the logic of it. This brings me to a larger point about the album, which is that all its moving parts are communicating. If the words don’t make sense to you then the production fills in the gap and tells what the artists feels. Or the temperament of the delivery reveals something deeper. There are many ways to read the album and i think it should be received in that way. But I also know that’s asking for too much.
As I’ve mentioned earlier the music is barricaded by a threatening complexity or violent playfulness, depending on how you look at it. It’s not everyones cup of tea but it could be if you sit with it. If you do you’ll be delighted to witness the treatment of this body of work. The seamless and coherent production and literature drives the project. khokkosh.’s performance on the album is compelling and her execution of the music and its accompanying assets are SUPER DIY. It may just revive your faith in the fact that not every album cycle has to have the same look and feel. It CAN be intuitive and chaotic. It can be uncomfortable but also a spectacle. It can be provoking and not always inviting. In many ways it can show you who you are even if you don’t like it. It doesn’t have to be structured to be popular but be heard and acknowledged, genuinely. All of this is possible if you the listener are a little patient. Oh yeah, this is still a pop album for me.
Listen to ‘Public Fluid and Digital Remembrance’ on Spotify & Apple Music
