USHKA is a Sri Lankan-born, Thailand-raised, Brooklyn-based deejay & multidisciplinary artist traversing genres across global electronic club & bass music. She blends a wide range of diasporic club music taking the club-goer on a journey through global club sounds. She's been featured on NTS Radio, The Lot, Boiler Room, The Fader, HBO, and more. She has performed at institutions such as Brooklyn Museum, Lincoln Center, MoMA PS1, the American Museum of Natural History, the Rubin Museum, The Shed, Toronto's Harbourfront Centre, and Montreal's Fondation Phi. Ushka has been a staple in NYC's nightlife for a decade, having run the iBomba party in Brooklyn for six years and djing parties such as Papi Juice, Gush, Ragga, Bubble-T, Moonshine, Laylit, No Nazar, Discostan, and more. Ushka currently co-runs a queer femme party called Caótica with DJ Riobamba. When she’s not performing, Ushka is known for her activism and organizing on social justice issues such as immigrant & refugee rights and climate justice. 

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"This mix features 10 artists (myself included) of either Sinhala, Tamil, or Burgher ethnic descent who trace their roots to the island known as Sri Lanka. I start and end the mix with classical Sri Lankan drums often used in “peraheras,” which is a Sinhala Buddhist festival that happens in Kandy, Sri Lanka close to my mother’s hometown with adorned elephants, dancers, and drummers. I weaved Sinhala Kandyan drums, Carnatic arrangements, tabla, Indian ragas  into a more experimental exploration of electronic music including drum n bass, UKG, pop, techno, Tamil & Telegu remixes, and more. Diaspora island artists featured on the mix include M.I.A., Goldtooth, Elsz, Surusinghe, Perera Elsewhere, Priya Ragu, IYRE (who still lives in Sri Lanka), Krithi (whose grandmother is Indian Tamil x Sri Lankan), myself (who grew up between Sri Lanka and Thailand). Our island endured a 30-year civil war with little resolve, with minority communities including Tamil and Muslim islanders bearing the brunt of divisive nationalism on the part of a Sinhala Buddhist nationalist government. I am very conscious of these dynamics, the trauma of folks on the island and in the diaspora, and the long journey to reconciliation and healing. Through music, we hopefully do our small part in weaving stories of solidarity amongst Lanka’s communities whether they live on the island or in diaspora. "

Tracklist:
AirTime – Pura Pura [Contre Jour Records]
All Night – Surusinghe
Bae (UKG refix) – Goldtooth
Bhairavi – Goldtooth [Self‑released]
Daka – TOBEHONEST
Dark Room (She Spells Doom Remix – Radio Mix) – ELSZ [Self‑released]
DhinDhinDha – BombayMami [MNRK Music Group] 
F.I.A.S.O.M., Pt. 2 – M.I.A. [Island Records]
Growing Embers – IYRE
Hanuma Vannama (remix) – Ushka & Brooklyn Shanti
Kandy Perahara – Manoj Peiris [Torana Music Box]
Lazy (Benjamin Damage Remix) – Perera Elsewhere [Friends Of Friends Records] 
Likshot – Surusinghe
Magul Bera Wadana (Sri Lankan Drums) – Manoj Peiris [Torana Music Box]
Pathala Pathala (Ushka x Krithi Remix) – Ushka & Krithi
Raag – Nitin Sawhney
Sweaty – Plus ONE [Ar Ais Arís Records] 
Table Tonic – Anuradha Pal
TAKA (Caribou Remix) – Ahadadream, Priya Ragu & Skrillex
Traverse – Krithi [Krithi self‑released on Bandcamp]

Ushka Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/ty_ushka/
https://linktr.ee/thanushka

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OBSKRRD 273 // Ushka

OBSKUR MUSIC: A queer-led Canadian collective that thrives as both a cutting-edge dance music label and a dynamic radio platform, curating innovative sounds and amplifying underground talent every Friday through OBSKUR Radio.

Our mission is to focus on showcasing and uplifting women and queer artists world-wide. 

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demos@obskurmusic.co

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New tracks tagged #sri lankan folk percussion