Bahrain-based artist Sean Aaron Fernandes is set to release The Cinematic Death of Man, a four-track EP under his Byculla Video Club (BVC) project, tomorrow, January 30, marking its first formal EP release with a defined track order.
Despite its dramatic title, the EP is rooted in something
far quieter and more personal – rather than signalling collapse or reinvention,
it centres on ego death, loss of confidence and self-belief, and the
uncomfortable process of acknowledging that state instead of masking it.
“It’s really about ego death,” Sean told GulfWeekly.
“Losing confidence, self-belief, and sitting with that
uncomfortable phase instead of pretending it’s not happening.
“It’s less ‘end of the world’ and more ‘okay, this is
happening, let’s deal with it.’”
That inward focus shapes the structure of the EP, which
moves deliberately through longing, fear of failure, acceptance, and eventual
growth.
BVC embraced a fluid approach to genre and release strategy,
with songs often arriving without narrative obligation or stylistic continuity,
however, unlike previous releases, which were mostly standalone entries in a
larger archive, the tracks on this EP were designed to be heard in sequence.
“These songs needed to live in a specific order,” Sean
explained.
“The random access idea is still very much alive – it just
took a short, organised break.”
Two previously released tracks, Margao and Will She?, act as
the emotional anchors for the EP.
The EP also introduces two new tracks – Coping Mechanism is
an instrumental inspired by 1960s pop, with subtle synth textures and a trace
of dub influence, and A Hymn for No One, the shortest track on the EP, is an
interlude with stacked vocals, Indian percussion, and a choral, reverb-heavy
atmosphere.
“The EP’s whole idea is that you actually have the power to
let yourself out of your own mental prison even if you keep forgetting that,”
Sean added.
“It flows through longing, fear of failure, acceptance, and
eventually growth.
“It’s basically emotional character development, in a little
sonic package – macabre, bittersweet, and bright.”
Instrumentally, The Cinematic Death of Man was created
almost entirely in isolation.
Sean handled the production himself, with Hey Feli,
previously Pineapples, contributing backing vocals and Abhinaya appearing on
Will She?.
“Instrumentally, this record is fully done by me,” he added.
“The only collaborators here are time, Hey Feli on backing
vocals, and Abhinaya on Will She?.
“New collaborators are definitely coming soon.”
The EP builds on the orchestral and electronic textures of
earlier releases such as Eat You Alive, but with a warmer and more theatrical
lean. Retro synthesisers, particularly Juno tones, replace sharper electronic
edges, while organic elements remain central to the sound.
Visuals are also in development, with Sean extending an open
call to filmmakers interested in collaboration.
The Cinematic Death of Man will be available on streaming
platforms starting tomorrow, January 30.
For more details, follow @byculla.video.club on Instagram.
