Death/industrial/electronic artist Essenar Zero aka Navnit Belur. Photo: Courtesy of the artist
When Bengaluru-based vocalist and songwriter Kaushal L.S. exited death/thrash metallers Godless in July 2024, among the prolific growler’s next moves was to establish a new gig series for underground music. About a year in the making, his gig series Phantom Pulse kicks off on May 11, 2025 at the venue By Chance in Bengaluru.
The lineup brings together grindcore act XrepeatX, noise, industrial, and power electronics artist Essenar Zero aka Navnit Belur (also part of drone/ambient act Megadrone), and The Indian Sonic Research Organisation, a seasoned collective of experimental artists. Originally, the show was anchored in Ladakh noise artist Ruhail Qaisar’s performance, who had to back out due to airport closures caused by the India-Pakistan escalation.
Kaushal says while bringing Qaisar down for a show was the spark, Phantom Pulse is a “natural extension” of the years he’s spent organizing shows for experimental metallers Maneating Orchid, a band he co-founded. In tandem, he was also in talks with other acts. Kaushal says, “I was also speaking to XrepeatX about doing a show. They’d just released a new demo, so this gig doubles as a launch party for it. I met [Navnit Belur] at a show I was organizing with [gig series] Spectral Decay in 2023, where Megadrone were playing. Earlier this year, we were at a metal gig when I asked if he had any plans for a heavy, noise-based project I could book. He said yes, and I jumped on it.”
XrepeatX, a seasoned grindcore act, are treating Phantom Pulse as a launch party for their four-track demo Casual Violence. The band said in a collective statement, “A platform like Phantom Pulse is exactly what the underground needs right now—spaces that support the unconventional, the non-commercial, and stuff that exists outside the typical circuit. It gives independent artists a space to be loud, weird, and honest.”
Belur, who describes his new project Essenar Zero as a death industrial, experimental electronic project, says his set intends to explore “the fragile equilibrium between music and noise, balancing control and chaos.” He says the performance will blend modular synth-driven sounds with “voltage-controlled anarchy, analogue feedback loops, distorted noise walls” and more elements. Belur sees Phantom Pulse as a relevant space for experimental, left-field music to find an audience in India. He adds, “A series like this reflects a growing curiosity and appetite for adventurous sound, and it’s encouraging to see cities like Bangalore play a role in nurturing that energy. We need spaces that allow artists to take creative risks, connect with like-minded communities, and evolve.”
The plan is to make Phantom Pulse a regular gig series in Bengaluru, taking place every one and a half or two months. Although he doesn’t get into specifics, hosting extreme music shows with a niche crowd doesn’t exactly mean you’ll break even. He adds, “Honestly, I’m in this more for the love of the music than for the money. The financials come later. Thankfully, metal, grind, noise, and adjacent genres have tight-knit communities, so there’s a base to build from when curating shows—but you have to plan everything meticulously. This is a niche within a niche, and every little detail matters.”
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