Hindi-Urdu poetics meet electronic dance music
in an exploration of a global identity
ABOUT
Static River is the artist moniker of Toronto-based, Indian-born Canadian music producer and multilingual singer-songwriter, Tanya Sharma.
Her sound is a fluid meeting point between cultures and genres, weaving poetic songwriting in Hindi-Urdu with contemporary electronic production and global underground influences.
The result is music that feels at once deeply personal and universal, an exploration of identity, belonging, and the liminal spaces between tradition and futurism.
According to Montreal-based culture magazine, Maisonneuve, her “voice is airy then syrupy like honey, with coarseness reverberating at the edge... [with] hypnotic synths [that] put the listener in a trance.”
The oxymoron, Static River, captures the dualities of a hybrid existence: the state between stillness and movement, electronic and organic, East and West.
LIVE
Iraade LIVE as part of a cabaret-style seated show at Meridian Arts Centre in Toronto, co-presented by TO live and the Tawoos Iniative. This performance blends a raw, acoustic rendition of the track with dance-pop production.
Karakorum LIVE performed at Static River's Iraade EP launch in a club-style show at BSMT 254, Toronto.
IRAADE
Static River’s debut EP Iraade (Intentions) captures reflections on the dancefloor, weaving vulnerable, evocative Hindi-Urdu lyrics that reflect South Asian context, memory, and place with house-inspired beats.
A soundscape for both catharsis and joy, Iraade moves through different shades of emotion across the four tracks, unfolding like chapters of one story, or four parallel moments on the same dancefloor.
Straddling between pop, tech house, and disco, Karakorum is a lighthearted ode to being smitten on the dancefloor, where the thrill of adventure and desire mirrors wandering in the mighty Karakorum mountains of central and south Asia.
Neeli Roshni (blue lights) is about crying-to-forget under club blue lights. Iraade, channels heartbreak into motion with moody vocals and a drop that turns rage into release. Behetereen (the best) closes the EP with punchy drums, horns and synths as an invitation to let this moment be the best.
