PHNX, the international duo comprising artist and producer Aerik Kylo and musician/producer Vishnu Prakash, is set to release their debut single, “Save Me”, on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2024. This introspective Trip-Hop track features the haunting vocals of Aarti Venkat (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) and offers a deep, emotional exploration of depression.
“Save Me” is much more than just a song—it’s a project born from personal experience and research, designed to raise awareness about mental health struggles. Drawing from conversations with friends, family, and their own battles, PHNX composed this song to evoke the emotional weight of depression, with the hope of normalizing discussions around mental health.
Recorded in isolation across three different locations in the United Arab Emirates—Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai—during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Save Me” was produced and arranged in a manner as unique as its message. The rap vocals by Aerik Kylo, instrumentation by Vishnu Prakash, and the sung vocals by Aarti Venkat came together in an extraordinary remote collaboration. After recording the track in the Arabian desert, the track was mixed and mastered in the Arctic, in a 200-year-old fisherman’s cabin on the Lofoten Islands, Norway.
With sonic inspiration from Massive Attack’s “Protection” and Lamb’s “Debut” albums, the song mirrors the experience of depression, gradually stripping away its musical layers, much like how depression dulls the world around us. As the song progresses, the rhythm, structure, and even the vibrancy of the sound itself fade, leaving listeners with a deep sense of melancholy and reflection.
Aerik Kylo explains the inspiration behind the song:
“When working on the project, we started out by researching people’s subjective experiences with depression. I found it very reassuring to learn that so many people have actually experienced depression at some point, and that we all pretty much experience it the exact same way. People describe depression as a feeling of meaninglessness, and with a lack of passion for things they ordinarily love. Creatively, they describe the color associated with it as gray, and the sound as ‘the absence of sound.’”
Kylo adds, “I’ve been humbled by the fantastic response to the song online, as it is the most honest and personal song I’ve written, and it organically has reached about 20,000 streams on YouTube Music alone.”
“Save Me” is available globally on all streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. PHNX hopes to connect with listeners who have experienced depression, offering them reassurance, and with those who seek to better understand what their loved ones may be going through.
This release aligns with World Mental Health Day to encourage important conversations about mental health and to destigmatize the experience of depression. While there are no live performances planned, the duo continues to collaborate virtually from their bases in Lofoten, Norway, and Kerala, India.
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PHNX is an international trip-hop group composed of tropical music producer Vishnu Prakash (Kerala, India) and arctic music producer AERIK KYLO (Lofoten Islands, Norway). PHNX Unveils Debut Single “Save Me” on World Mental Health Day PHNX, the international duo comprising artist and producer AERIK KYLO and musician/producer Vishnu Prakash, is set to release their debut single, “Save Me”, on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2024.
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