I7HVN: Interview & Podcast · You Play I Write 79

The solid output of Indian artist I7HVN over the past few years has placed him among the more interesting creative voices coming out of Asia. His sound can work on the dancefloor at times, but through his live sets and the many artistic influences that extend beyond music, it is not always designed for the club. Moving somewhere between ambient and IDM, his releases explore territories where dramatic scenography, experimentation, and magnetically charged atmospheres intersect. With releases on labels such as Qilla, Circular Limited, Observant, and through his own collective Safar, I7HVN continues to move forward without rushing, but without stopping either, gradually solidifying both his sound and his musical identity.

I7HVN's latest release in 2025, Augury, for Rites label, serves as the perfect link that led to his participation in You Play I Write, marking with this interview and podcast the 79th edition of the series.

Your project is defined as a multimedia practice where music, narrative, and an imagined world coexist. Could you talk in more detail about how the intersection between these creative fields emerges, and how electronic music becomes the main medium of expression within that ecosystem?

I’m a self-taught music producer and a visual artist. I started imagining that the craft I make exists in a fictional world and is part of an imaginary landscape. The themes are derived from real-world experiences and subjects that define my interests, such as grim reality, the state of humankind, history, warfare, and magic. Music became the main medium as I always wanted to create music and connected with it the most. Other mediums such as graphic design and 3D art came later, as I wanted to add another dimension to my music. Lately, I’ve been experimenting with prints and ceramics as well, to have some tangible angles too.

You’ve said that the project took its definitive shape in 2021, even though you first began in 2013. What happened in that interval? What kind of learning process or rupture marked that transition? You went through different genres and approaches as a producer, including melodic techno, for instance. How did you gradually forge the sonic identity that you identify with today?

As I was saying, I started learning music production by myself in 2013. I was still in my hometown back then, and the internet was a luxury, so it took a long time, around 4–5 years, for me to learn production by reading manuals and whatever tutorials were available back in the day. I also did my engineering studies from 2018 onwards, so a lot of time was lost due to that. I moved through a lot of genres, as I was still trying to find my sound during that time. 2021 marks the year when I realized that this is the sound where I belong.

The name I7HVN carries symbolic and visual resonance. How does your alias engage with the idea of identity?

It’s just “Ishan”, my first name, written in a slightly weird way. There’s no ominous or cryptic meaning behind it. I was quite young when I chose it as my identity.

Your bio explicitly mentions the influence of fantasy language and mythic narrative. Which works, authors, or symbolic worlds have shaped your approach to composition?

I’m a big fan of Steven Erikson, his Malazan series, and Patricia Cornwell’s crime thriller books. I’m very keen on writing fiction and creating worlds myself. I also draw a lot of influence from folk horror, Indigenous people and their cultures, and historical events, as mentioned previously.

Do you conceive each album as a chapter within a single overarching narrative, or does every release open an independent world of its own? Or is it perhaps a blend of both processes?

I’m trying to do this now, especially with my albums. Until now, everything was quite sparse, and I was still attaching the music to real-world themes.

This year, however, I’m working on my biggest world-building project so far, where I plan to create an art project that includes both my music and tangible objects that I’ll be making.

When you speak about atmosphere as a narrative tool, what does that mean in creative terms? How do you craft an atmosphere beyond the use of words?

I rely quite heavily on textures and atmospheres in my tracks. That’s one thing that defines my music, regardless of the genre I’m working in.

Your work moves through Techno, Electro, IDM, and the outer edges of Electronica and Ambient. How do you decide the sonic territory of each piece without losing coherence within your broader artistic universe?

That’s a nice question.

I try to create longer releases, a minimum of 4–5 tracks, so I can tell the story in a cohesive way. I choose to blend these styles because they allow me to navigate storytelling beyond genres and create cinematic, dramatic moods. I also see the whole release as a single compiled track rather than something fragmented.

There is a very physical dimension to your live sets, with tactile rhythms and fractured structures. What role does the body play in your creative process and in the way you perform live?

The whole set is a permutation-and-combination system where any clip in Ableton can go with any other clip, regardless of scale or key. It has a very free-flow approach, although it’s mostly techno-centric.

What is your relationship with technology as a narrative instrument? Are there tools or processes that have become part of your compositional language over time?

Yes, I use a lot of self-made audio effect racks in Ableton. They’re a collection of modulation and movement-inducing tools that help me a lot in my process. I make music entirely in the box. I also use PaulStretch, granulators, and shapers quite a lot.

If we looked at your recent releases as a sequence in your evolution as an artist (Youthful, Innate Needs, Primal Inflection, Augury), how would you describe that trajectory?

I’d say it’s quite synchronous. I’ve been trying to showcase different angles of my sound style, and I’m quite content with them. They’re quite brooding and ritualistic. Sometimes cinematic and slightly sci-fi, but mostly they tell an underlying story.

Each label seems to have been a space to explore different facets of your sound. What was the process like for your most recent release on Rites?

Rites was quite a good fit for the release. They cater to a sound that aligns well with my work, especially the cinematic, downtempo side of music.

To what extent is your artistic practice shaped by your cultural and geographical context in India?

Quite a lot. I discovered this quite late about myself, but the sound I was always trying to find was actually very close to me.

India and its culture are very vibrant, as the country is vast. The musical influences and instruments are equally diverse. I’m especially fascinated by percussive instruments such as the kanjira and ghatam. Indigenous and folk themes and cultures in India influence me deeply.

How do you perceive the relationship between local scenes and global imagination in contemporary electronic music?

I’ve hosted a few boutique events, but I’m not very active in hosting club spaces right now. It’s mostly just me playing music. The scene here is quite varied. There aren’t many opportunities for experimental music yet, but it’s growing. House, techno, and breaks are in a relatively healthy state right now. I think the focus here is shifting more towards community building, sound systems, and floor experiences.

You founded Safar Collective as a space for artists with introspective practices and experimental processes. What gap was it created to address?

We aim to address the lack of representation of left-field music from India and the subcontinent. It started with a strong focus on experimental projects involving visual artists and producers. The focus has now shifted towards a net label approach to showcase more and more experimental music from the region.

You speak about “long-term creative evolution.” How does a process like that sustain itself within such an accelerated ecosystem?

I think long-term creative evolution is both introspective and extrinsic. The introspective side is about building my own world and its artefacts through music and other mediums. The extrinsic side comes from learning from people, failures in projects, fixing them, learning new mediums, and more.

In an accelerated ecosystem, it’s even more important to show who you really are and what you believe in. That only comes from understanding your own taste.

You consider your performances as artistic and musical experiences that go beyond purely functional club sets. How do you build that kind of live experience?

I like to blend genres. I’m mostly focused on sounds that resonate with what I like and produce. Textural, cinematic, broken, and atmospheric elements are central.

Which aspects of your practice are you still exploring and would like to continue pushing further?

I want to explore many more mediums to further define my craft.

What projects are you currently working on, and what does the year 2026 hold for you?

I’m quite excited about 2026, as I already have a lot lined up until mid-year. Right now, I’m making music for the third quarter. I’m also hoping to play more shows and record more mixes.

And one final question to close: how did you approach the set you recorded for You Play I Write that accompanies this interview, and what did you want to express through it?

I wanted it to stay true to my sound. The mix is very textural, broken, and cinematic. I tried to blend in many of the influences that also shape my productions.