Single Review: Sonotto - INFINITE YOU (I lost myself)

By Milan Perera, Arts Critic Columnist

Sonotto mesemerises with another single.

When I went to interview him on a Monday evening as he was getting ready to play a bill at ‘Mother’s Ruin’ in a couple of hours' time I could not help but notice how calm and composed he looked, far removed from his energetic and retina searing performances. I was moved by the warmth and acceptance with which he received me.

As I was admiring some of his sketches in the semi-lit lounge which functions also as his studio, graced with bass guitar, synthesiser and a plethora of records, he brought me a tea as dark as tar, as I like my tea. I asked him how he could be so calm when he is playing in a couple of hours time. Maybe he is a secret yogi or a zen master. But he claims healthy eating and proper rest are the key. But having said that he excused and ran to the kitchen to save some oven chips from turning into cinder.

After interviewing him nearly year ago for his debut EP “Could We Be Closer” we sat down again to talk about his latest single “Infinite You (I lost myself)”. Sonotto is a musician extraordinaire and like all great artists he reveals the inner sanctum of his artistic credo in stages.

He is bold and brilliant. His music could be compared with that of SAULT, Jitwam, Wet Leg or Flying Lotus. His act is big just like the scope of his interests. He tries to distill all his artistic skills into one act: dance, visuals, interaction with the audience and more importantly, his music. He tried his luck as a semi-professional dancer, photographer, model and designer but it was in music that he found his metier. Watching him live is as magical as seeing him in studio as he composes his tracks layer by layer on the synthesiser. If you have not seen Sonotto play, get yourself to Mother’s Ruin on a Monday night.

His latest single has been in the making for well over 18 months. He started working on this single quite a while back but halted it for a later date. But, one day he came home from a gig with a clear blue print in his head for the single and finished it in one sitting into the small hours of the night. One of the key differences between. Could We Be Closer and 'Infinite You (I lost myself)' is Sonotto is using his voice to provide the final shimmering sheen to the track. His debut album was a cornucopia of electronic tableaux, but this particular track is a kaleidoscope of various elements with lead vocals of Sonotto and vocal harmonies of backing singers and layers of richly textured synth sounds.

The key theme of “INFINITE YOU” is undoubtedly finding love in others and rekindling self-love. Sonotto is somewhat sceptical in investing all our love and energy in another individual while we are waging an internal war. The central message is crystal clear – romantic love does not make people whole unless we love ourselves first. How do we discover ourselves then? “Losing yourself in the search, not realising that you already are what you’re longing for”, Sonotto tells me. This sagacious advice is not without some religious vibes as found in a Zen koan such as “Teach me to the path to nothingness” or a biblical aphorism such as “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will find it.”

This must be too good to be an isolated single. So, I turned tables and asked him if this is a taster for another album. He responded with glint in his eyes and a rise smile “You’ve got to wait and find out, haven’t you?”.