Rakhis aka Shikhar Yuvraj Manchanda dons multiple hats as a musician, producer, Head of music at IncInk,  a mixing engineer and founder at The Beast India Company.

Out now is his debut 5 track EP ‘Bears Off The Leash’ - showcasing the dynamism of his signature sound through this highly anticipated release.  The 5 tracks - Redneck, Assphault, Bassmama, Lonewolf and Proxy-Moron are the culmination of all the sounds he has loved and played with over the years. Truly genre-fluid Rakhis is raw and original. A kind of wildness resides in his musicality. With a backbone made of metal and a vision that provokes and stimulates the mind's eye, Rakhis is cinematic. He encourages us to expand our imagination, axe down repetition for day to day life and take the ‘Bears Off The Leash’. 

Rakhis is an anagram for Shikhar. It is a play on the word ruckus and that’s exactly what we get from this EP. Bears off the Leash is a culmination of analogue and digital sounds, some harmonious and some dissonant. These are soundscapes that Rākhis has created out of his beloved guitar with unconventional sounds, marrying live music with programmed sounds.

Each of the 5 tracks has its own unique message, from Redneck, a Tandav formed off of all his emotions, to Bassmama, which shows how insignificant we are in this universe and the greed-driven rage and conquest which has corrupted our very reason to live. Assphault is about us acting like children playing with Lego blocks, and our constant need of forming concrete jungles that then become our very own death traps. Lonewolf is just a plain old fun track and can be compared to the surreal experience of seeing someone being possessed by the supernatural. And finally ending with Proxy- Moron which according to Rākhis describes the current scenario of drug usage and dependence including that of the big pharma conglomerates' constant push for the subjugation of the people of this planet. 

The EP artwork created by the IncInk Art Studio and conceptualised by artists Mihir Sud and Avian D’Souza takes inspiration from the Chaos Theory and the Navarasas. The apparent take of unpredictable behaviour in systems governed by deterministic laws. The 9 emotions of the Navarasas depicted in the original artwork suggest a paradox because it connects two notions that are familiar yet commonly regarded as incompatible. Mirroring what may sound and feel chaotic from the onset listening to Bears Off The Leash but also a sense of calmness as the undercurrent. 

Taking inspiration from the Navarasas, the supporting visuals is footage shot and edited by cinematographer Gobind Singh Dhano of dancer-artist Shivani Gupta performing the Mohiniattam, an Indian classical dance form that developed in the state of Kerela, India.