Khanvict Releases Promising New EP ‘Escape’

Singles have ruled the musical roost throughout last year, due to people’s reduced attention spans and the easy accessibility of good-quality music. However, Canada-based music producer Asad Khan aka Khanvict broke the norm, and released his brand new 6-track EP ‘Escape’ on June 11.

He candidly shares, “we went back and forth on this one a lot. 3-4 tracks of the EP were released as singles but there is an overall sense of cohesion between the tracks that were chosen for this project. Not many people listen to a longer body of work as often as they used to before the DSP age, so we kept that in mind when designing strategy. That said, I would love to do a full-length album at some point in the near future - something that tells a story from top to bottom!”

Early in the pandemic-induced lockdown, Khan began a series of weekly live streams on Twitch which he titled ‘Escape’. These free-flowing sessions, attracted up to 2,500 viewers on Friday nights, and proved to him that everyone was looking for an escape from the prevalent situation and the fear and uncertainty surrounding it. Music provided that escape and a sense of freedom.

“Escape has been in the works for about a year and a half. Each song was its own unique process and story. The overall vision was to step up the sound design, and quality of the sound. I love high-fidelity, rich sound and getting my tracks closer to that was really important for me on this project. I'm happy with how it has turned out!” he says excitedly. Khan migrated to Canada with his family at the age of 13, and claims this new EP is a lot like “the story of his life”. Although trained as an engineer, he left his career mid 20s to pursue his passion for music. ‘Escape’ is his most personal offering to date. The pandemic was a period of intense creativity, evident through his attention to detail in every aspect of production, arrangement, and song writing.

Each of the six tracks on this EP hold their own, some through unique collaborations and others on the basis of their fresh sound. For ‘Impedance’, Khan collaborated with LA-based Raaginder, after having worked with him on his first EP ‘Kahani’. He teamed up with Amritha Shakti for ‘Kingdom’ after meeting her backstage at a festival in New York City in 2019. The entire song, however, was written and recorded remotely during the pandemic. And for the track ‘Something Worth Protecting’, Khan collaborated with Tej aka ‘The Lost Strings’. On his multiple collaborations, Khan says, “there has to be some synergy as humans first - a real connection - that creates a vibe which leads to successful collaborations.”

Released under the Snakes x Ladders label, ‘Escape’ is an amalgamation of Electronic, World, Bass, South Asian, EDM, Desi, and Folktronic. Khan personally picks ‘Impedance’ as his favourite track, because of the emotion of the violin that shines through, along with the wobble bassline. When pressed to answer, he says that ‘Kingdom’ was the hardest to make because, “I don't work with vocalists a lot, so dealing in vocals and harmonies, especially over zoom / online due to Covid restrictions was a very challenging process. Really happy with how it turned out though!”

This year has been a big one for Khanvict, as he hit his first million streams on Spotify. His recent release, the politically charged ‘Closer’, racked up 12 L plays on YouTube and was featured on the Youtube playlist - Indie Rising.

He hasn’t let his hard-won success get to his head though. “People need to recognize that all good things take time to build. Steady and consistent effort over years, will yield results no matter what your natural talent level may be. Work ethic and consistency is more important than natural talent, in my opinion. And last but not least, a team matters - find people who believe in you and want you to achieve your goals and dreams. I have an amazing team at Snakes x Ladders, that is a force behind each release and project,” he signs off with this sage advice.

Khanvict’s EP ‘Escape’ can be streamed on all major platforms.

Noor Anand Chawla

Guest Author Noor Anand Chawla is Head Digital Content and Marketing for ShowCase Events. She contributes feature articles to various publications and writes on her blog www.nooranandchawla.com. She can be found on Instagram @nooranandchawla