Kamakshi Khanna – Love Is Not A Fucking Game (2024)
A trailblazer in India’s indie music scene, singer-songwriter Kamakshi Khanna fuses elements of pop, RnB, soul, and folk in her moving melodies. This might be my first taste of the Mumbai-based musician; however, she has pioneered a unique sound for several years opening with her 2014 debut EP Much Mellow. Of course, her streaming melodies capture hearts internationally; however, her confident stage presence is what drops jaws at live shows. Performing at notable festivals including Lollapalooza Indie 2024, VH1 Supersonic, N47 Weekender, and supporting artists like AR Rahman and Sunidhi Chauhan, as well as her 2018 solo US tour, Khanna reaches listeners far beyond her Indian borders.
Following her well-received singles ‘Bewajah’, ‘Tere Pyaar Mein’ and ‘Fil Yeh Nadaan Hai’, ‘Love Is Not A Fucking Game’ is her first English single since 2023’s ‘Breathe’. Embracing her Hindi roots with intriguing Hindi lyricism, the bi-lingual artist steps across giving an English slip to her genre-diverse music. Unlike her recent singles, ‘Love Is Not A Fucking Game’ is not a collaboration with Kamakshi Khanna seemingly “owning” every second of the track. This isn’t saying she lacked presence in her previous songs; rather it’s an indication that we enjoy an exclusively Kamakshi Khanna sound.
Shifting from her pop-influenced collaborative single ‘Bewajah’ with singer-songwriter Azamaan Hoyvoy, Khanna steps down from upbeat electronic tones to a simplistic folk-inspired melody in ‘Love Is Not A Fucking Game’. While an acoustic tone flutters along the single, the full band exuberance coupled with Khanna’s sincere vocals offer a kaleidoscopic enthusiasm to barebones sentimentality. Produced by Pranay Parti, Sounak Saha (guitars), Adil Kurwa (bass) and Karun Kannampilly (drums) rush across the melody in its arrangement; however, the delicate vocals bind the song with raw honesty and intricate precision.
The first single from her upcoming EP, ‘Love Is Not A Fucking Game’ tackles the complexity of modern-day relationships with each instrument crashing in an emotional ebb-and-flow. Khanna explains:
“‘Love Is Not A Fucking Game’ captures the overwhelming feeling of navigating through the pain of modern dating. It is born out of a series I started in the lockdown called The Green Room Seasons that features the most initial version of my unreleased music before the songs step into the real world…”
In addition to the single, Kamakshi Khanna released an official music video for ‘Love Is Not A Fucking Game’. You can view the video below or on her YouTube channel. Please note that this video uses lighting effects that can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
Find out more about Kamakshi Khanna on her Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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