Award-winning composer and producer Sarathy Korwar returns with his most introspective work yet, channelling nearly a decade of musical evolution into the hypnotic rhythms of his seventh album, There Is Beauty, There Already. The percussionist, known for his fusion of Indian classical traditions with contemporary jazz and electronic textures, strips back to his core passion for this deeply personal 40-minute drum suite. Recorded over four intensive days at Peter Gabriel's legendary Real World Studios, he collaborates with fellow drummers to create a transcendent exploration of rhythm that draws from Indian folk music, jazz ensembles, and minimalist classical compositions.
Another recent drop from the London-based musician is a striking music video for We Take Things For Granted, shot by acclaimed filmmaker Shreya Dev Dube, capturing the album’s meditative pulse through evocative visual storytelling. Having a great month, Sarathy has not only given us new music, but has also launched it through his new record label, Otherland..
To begin with, could you tell us how you and your music have evolved since the last time we spoke about five years ago?
We last spoke around the release of my album More Arriving (2019). We’ve been through a global pandemic, witnessing the rise of AI in creative work and are continually trying to find our place in the world. My music helps me cope and stay focused on the things that I consider important, namely - people, friendships, community, spontaneity, trust and giving up control. I think my music tries to reflect these ideals and has grown in this way. The sonic growth in reflected through how I’ve grown as a human being.
Still from We Take Things For Granted
What inspired your new music album, There is Beauty, There Already? What was the starting point for the album?
The starting point and inspiration was the drums. I had been feeling for a while that I wanted to explore the sonic potential of the drums more. Let them be the melodic and rhythmic focal points of the music. I got an incredible opportunity to record with 4 amazing musicians (Photay, Magnus Mehta, Joost Hendrickx) at Real World Studios and those recordings became the backbone of the album.
The use of instruments like the tabla, ghatam, and Buchla Easel creates a unique sonic palette. Can you share your process for selecting and combining these sounds?
Actually, for me, it was more important to select the right people rather than the right sounds. I’ve always believed that if the people are inspiring, then they will bring the right sounds with them! I chose people who live between electric and acoustic worlds. The musicians were all comfortable improvising, letting go and building a new sonic world together.
When will we get to listen to it?
The album is out on the 7th of November on my recently launched record label Otherland!
Still from We Take Things For Granted
We take things for Granted has a monochromatic film with gorgeous cinematography by Shreya Dev Dube. How did you both choose this path for the video? What were the first initial conversations like?
Both Shreya and I felt like the music had a cinematic quality to it. I wanted Shreya to have a really strong say on the feel and narrative of the video. I have found her work so inspiring and interesting that I wanted to give her as much freedom as she wanted to make this video. We talked about finding beauty in everyday objects and places, digging deeper into the banal and mundane to find meaning.
What sort of research went to it and what were your inspirations for the video?
The whole album is about acknowledging that the grass is green enough already in some sense. Nejm inspired so much of the movement and character of the video by her sheer presence on screen. Shreya was keen to shoot the video in an old Goan house and was inspired the monochromatic film. We talked about incorporating ideas of time, memory, movement, and constant change.
Change is the only thing constant but do you personally like change? Is it really a comforting thought for you?
I think change can be comforting once you accept it as a truth. In the words of the great Ursula K. Le Guin - 'What goes too long unchanged destroys itself. The forest is forever because it dies and dies and so lives.'
Words Hansika Lohani
Date 24-10-2025