On dancefloors across the UK, South Asians are having a moment. Thanks to the growing popularity of grassroots organisations such as Daytimers and Dialled In, a new generation of DJs including Yung Singh, Gracie T and DJ Priya are making names for themselves by blending the music of their heritage with high-energy genres such as garage, jungle and house.
The latest in this nascent lineage is Anish Kumar. A student at Cambridge University, Kumar has been spending his time between classes learning how to interpolate niche soulful vocals into emotive floor fillers. His debut self-released single, 2021’s Little Miss Dynamite, featuring a sample of Brenda Lee’s 1964 song Is It True pitched up into a summery house banger, earned a spin on one of DJ Annie Mac’s final Radio 1 shows. Kumar followed this success with 2022’s EPs Postcards and Bollywood Super Hits!, the latter putting a club-ready spin on Hindi film tracks and receiving co-signs from arena DJs Four Tet and Bonobo.
“I don’t want to be a one-trick-pony artist,” Kumar told NME. “That’s my biggest battle: getting stuff to still sound like me while [remaining] eclectic.” It’s a feat he has achieved on his upcoming release, A Mixtape by Anish Kumar. Across 10 tracks, Kumar showcases his slick production style, weaving seamlessly between euphoric, Daft Punk-esque house on Sweetheart (Never Have I Struggled So Hard) to anthemic breakbeats on Without Further Ado, and moody hip-hop beats on Workin’ Late. It’s a remarkably self-assured effort for a 23-year-old, it holds the promise of genre-bending tracks that will dominate clubs for years to come.
A Mixtape by Anish Kumar, available to pre-order, is out via Awal on 25 August
