The sky is the limit for Melbourne's latest music addition Arctisky.
The Maldives is a place of paradise for Australians. The elevated version of Bali holidaying, Maldives offers a place of relaxation, restoration, reset and refuge from the nine-to-five grind that is societally pinned on us, where you can submerge yourself in the Indian Ocean’s bluest of blue waters, consume cocktails on demand as if being served on an endless conveyor belt and bake in the sun radiating heat to the point of warming your soul.
As a holiday destination at the resorts far removed from the mainland culture, Maldives are unbeatable. For the locals, however, the Maldives comes with an air of melancholy stemming from political unrest.
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This is the narrative lived by Maldives-raised, Melbourne-based musician Arctisky (pronounced Arc-ti-sky).
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“I grew up in the Maldives where I saw these political situations where they played out the “us versus them” narrative. There was a lot of weight that the right-wing carried through propaganda and instilling fear in citizens. It really had an impact on me mentally and creatively and I couldn’t be there anymore,” he explains. “I had to get out of that societal conditioning.”
Starting his music exploration at the ripe age of 6 years old, impelled by his brothers rock and roll ruckus within his household and the formative foundations of Jack Black classic School Of Rock, Articsky moulded his rock roots into talent, ultimately leading him to stardom in the Maldives.
However, stifled by the political plays of his country, Arctisky seeked out creative refuge from the land of paradise. Arctisky found his creative sanctuary in the city of arts and culture, Melbourne, making the permanent international transition to Australia in 2019 after country-hopping to avoid his home country. It is here that solo music project Arctisky was realised.
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“That’s actually a pretty fun story – so ‘Arctisky’ used to be a cargo vessel my dad used to be in business with and there’s a bunch of stories like that go with that name. It’s a very personal name for me and I figured if I was gonna be known as something, that would be it. It just sat right for me and I liked how it clicked.”
Casting your mind back to the fever dream of 2020, freedom and Melbourne didn’t quite go hand in hand, however the housing confines of Melbourne paled in comparison to the conservative and creative confines of the Maldives, with Arctsiky finding a state of musical solace during lockdown.
“A lot of the songs were written during lockdown,” says Arctisky. “My friend Nic Rippon was in my bubble during the lockdown period and we gel together well and were able to collaborate and create the foundations of my album.”
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The result is a 13 track “brain baby” album, Roots Vol. 1 which sees Arctisky contextualise his experiences with conflicting political views into raw and powerful tracks with messages of hope and empowerment, breaking down the taboos along the way. Each song is a culmination of years of introspection and sonic exploration, carried by infectious funk grooves, soulful melodies of blues and reggae, and of course his rock and roll rebellion. The title encompasses all of his learnings and honours his background.
“The name Roots Vol. 1 came from, one, I was paying homage to my musical heritage, not cultural heritage, but because I grew up listening to rock and roll, and two, it felt like the root of my career; the beginning of something fresh.”
With singles ‘Loose (featuring Nic Rippon)’ and ‘Unreal Love’ already floating through the music stratosphere as released 12 and 14 July respectively, the third single from Arctisky’s debut album ‘Let Freedom Ring’ is due for release 9 August. It’s the seed of something much bigger for Arctisky.
“I think this album has definitely set the foundations,” Arctisky says. “I like to take things as they come so who knows what will be next.”
Once the album happens upon the world, Arctisky envisions a journey beyond the studio walls, embarking on a tour accompanied by a full live band. Touring dates are still swirling around with nothing set in stone as yet.
For now you can enjoy Arctisky’s musical offering and await the drop of Roots Vol. 1. Find out more about Arctisky here.
