Very few boast a creative résumé quite as stacked as Anushka Manchanda, the award-winning editor and filmmaker, former pop star, playback singer and actress now making waves in the electronic music arena as Kiss Nuka. This latest incarnation – which stands for ‘Nature's Universal Kinectic Attention’ – is one the Mumbai and Barcelona-based Indian polymath feels most deeply connected to, combining her lifelong pursuit of musical connection with uplifting the causes close to her.
Her latest EP for Jamz Supernova’s Future Bounce label, ‘Witches Brew’, is a beaming manifestation of the Kiss Nuka mantra. “Dedicated to the strength and magic of women”, the project features billowing ambient, breaks and electro-pop needled into four spectral dancefloor scorchers. Its lead single landed earlier this month in a haze of ravey drums and broken rhythms, conducted by Kiss Nuka’s own melismatic vocal, along with the heads-down heater ‘Dance Of The Ravens’. The B-side – released today (5th July) to complete the packet – is equally spellbinding, comprising the growling, bass-driven ‘Blood Moon’ and slower, more atmospheric modes of ‘Dance of the Ravens (Aftermath)’.
As a live performer, Kiss Nuka has brought her hypnotic sounds to stages such as Magnetic Fields festival, Rave The Planet, and Far Out Left, as well as most recently Glastonbury’s Greenpeace Stage. Here, alongside a line-up of contemporaries including I. JORDAN, Saoirse and Jaguar, the DJ debuted her brand new A/V live show, which features powerful footage shot by the artist herself in nature alongside her distinctive blend of jungle, techno, d&b, and ethereal electronica.
It’s the latest endeavour of an artist constantly expanding her creative repertoire into new realms, guided by her passions for the natural world, protecting feminine energy and moving bodies around the dancefloor. Kiss Nuka’s Selections offer a small snippet of these interests, from earthy ambient techno and electro, to skittering jungle, footwork and beyond.
‘Witches Brew’ is out now on Future Bounce – listen here.