The Opener is The FADER’s short-form profile series of casual conversations with exciting new artists.
The moniker the sound chalk makes might suggest something quiet or understated, but the artist behind the name—20-year-old Kabir Parekh—is anything but. His music offers a shimmering, high-energy vision of alternative electronica that balances delicate, headphone-ready textures with the kind of heavy basslines designed for club speakers. Born in San Francisco and raised in Mumbai, Parekh is currently honing his craft as a music student in London, building significant momentum following the late 2025 release of “Manmade Manmaid.”
Parekh settled on his artist name at age 14 while signing up for DistroKid. While he initially gravitated toward “Hiareth”—a Welsh term for a nostalgia that never happened—his final choice carries a similar, hazy sentimentality, evoking childhood memories of drawing on pavement. His sound is an extension of this, serving as a smudgy, colorful outpouring of internet-inspired ideas. Tracks like “Ladies with an attitude” and the hard-hitting “Marijuana (2die4)” have become staples of the MumbaiAnderground club nights he organizes with friends in India.
In a recent conversation, Parekh opened up about his creative influences, his daily essentials, and his philosophy on artistic interpretation.
A Creative Perspective
When asked about his ideal afternoon, Parekh describes a simple, grounded routine: “Slightly tired from an active morning, getting a coffee while the sun’s out and waking up for the second time in a day.” His musical roots run deep, tracing back to a formative experience at age 10 when he saw the Manganiyar Classroom at the NCPA in Mumbai. “It was a bunch of kids around my age who were so amazingly talented and it made me fall in love with Rajasthani folk music,” he recalls.
His eclectic taste is evident in his admiration for artists like Alex G, whose track “Know Now” he cites as a song he would love to remix. “It’s exactly the type of progression I would make on a synth, just on a guitar,” he notes. When it comes to his own lyrics, Parekh remains refreshingly open-minded about how listeners interpret his work: “I don’t think you can misunderstand a lyric. What you understand is exactly what it means—your perception is your reality.”
Whether he is running, browsing YouTube, or capturing fleeting thoughts in his notes app—like the recent entry, “Money is time so it flies when you’re having fun”—Parekh is constantly observing the world around him. As he continues to bridge the gap between his international influences and his club-ready ambitions, one thing is certain: he knows exactly when the party is just getting started.
