Chasing Birds – ADVIKA (2025) – Album Review
Album: Chasing Birds
Artist: ADVIKA
Release Date: May 25, 2025
ADVIKA’s journey started at the age of 4 with classical piano lessons, which eventually led to a growing appreciation of music production at age 13. She decided to further her skills and interests in electronic music production, enrolling at Berklee and experimenting with modular synthesis, while exploring her Tamil cultural heritage. Now based in Boston, the musician blends classical training with jazz, Carnatic singing, and modern electronic production techniques for her original compositions and covers.
AVIDKA’s debut EP states it’s a “genre-fluid, introspective journey through identity, heritage, and self-discovery.” That is a fairly heavy statement, but I wonder if it’s a bit TOO wet when it comes to the genre-fluidity. My initial feeling is that it’s well recorded and produced, and a lot of care went into the sound design and selection of instrumentation. Her vocal style is pleasant, and she can hit the notes in her range with ease. The slight letdown: this EP is not a cohesive showcase of her talents as much as a playlist of her influences.
She’s Going Places really hits the “too many ideas” problem because you go from a new-age chant and crystalline synths to a bit of campy jazz standard. It wouldn’t be so jarring if this was explored more. The loungy jazz and crooning is sonically degraded in fun ways (love those bit-crushing plug-ins and saturation on the mic), but then it changes themes and moods again, going into Bjork’s Post-era dance track. This really feels like 2, potentially 3 different songs, and with the track time of close to 7 minutes, it might have been better served as such.
One of the more rooted in her cultural heritage, Pariah’s theme is heavy and about growing up with isolation from being “othered” in America due to her Indian heritage and distancing herself from said heritage, not being able to understand native dialects and conversations. It does have a bit of an uplifting message that this heritage can help shape you to be a unique individual that is part of a greater whole and something to be proud of. This is most apparent in the use of a frame drum, the parai, which complements the track’s drones and vocal FX. While this showcases her heritage, it might not be the most compelling piece compared to her jazz vocal stylings.
Samples and field recordings have to make their presence known on Chasing Birds, which serves as a metaphor for the struggles of growing up in two separate cultures (Tamil and American). The real stars of this composition are the harmonies and monotone mantras, which come at very dramatic points, especially as the song closes. It’s a bit of a shame that the piano is soooo loud that the vocal parts have to compete for sonic space in the stereo field. It’s a beautiful piece, with delightfully melancholic tones and story.
While all the training and education definitely helps avoid typical pitfalls of amateur productions, you can still hear the “green” in her singing style and perhaps too wide a net of genres, instead of really focusing on one particular genre. A Jazz Noir theme with Carnatic instrumentation, with a heavy dose of dusty vinyl beats, makes for an interesting late-night listen at an oxygen bar, but I might need to go a little heavy on the O2 to keep up. It’s a great debut showcasing her many influences and skills, but I would like to hear a follow-up that is rooted in one style and theme, so there is a true signature sound. I have a feeling that might be the case when you listen to one of the new singles from her upcoming album “starring as”.
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