Jangus Kangus- AKA Jasmine Sankaran is a crafter of dreamy indie, pointed punk, and vibing synth-pop music.

The LA-based artist most recently released the single ‘You Only Love Me When,’ which offers a vulnerable peak inside of the performer’s mind…

‘You Only Love Me When’ begins with an indie oom-pah-pah type feel. A lone guitar sets the stage, and another comes in shortly after. The sweeping of the high electric guitars- paired with the plucking of the low one- sets us up with an ethereal indie feel.

Two people- drinking out of old glasses and falling in love. Jangus Kangus’ lyrics are troubadorean, swoon-worthy.

She appreciates the feeling but then she realizes- he only loves her when she’s not sober. ‘You Only Love Me When’ instantly transforms into a pop song, infused with a cloying 50s-60s vibe:

What started out as a romantic candle-lit night turned into a longing- to get it all over with- wanting to forget.

Next, ‘You Only Love Me When’ features lovely pleasant airy harmonies- but then they die down, a flower wilting. As a whole, the song is a back-and-forth between two feelings. This is directly shown in the music as we transition over and over again from this plucky oom-pah-pah section into the nostalgic one.

The artist makes us ask- What do you do when the taste of wine is already in your mouth?

When the world becomes fuzzier, friendlier (but you know that you know better).

How do you get out of it, and how do you get over it?

Musically, multiple guitars play a new running eighth note line with a phasing effect, we’re shifting, woozy… and then we reach a conclusion.

A lone guitar bends a note and fades out in the distance until it is all just a daydream.

‘You Only Love Me When’ feels a Little Laufey, a touch of Angel Olson…It is a song full of beautiful rhythmic modulations and shifts, a refreshing alternative to pop songs (which charge straight ahead like a train might go on a track).

Overall, Kangus’s boom-chick boom-chick and 1950’s-60’s melancholic feels have intertwined and contrasted to make an introspective dichotomy.

“It’s hookup culture meets the hopeless romantic. It’s a story about how you can have a beautiful romantic night with someone, what feels like a real connection, and then in the light of day having to pretend like it wasn’t a big deal.” -Jangus Kangus

How were you able to write a song that’s so introspective? Where does the seed of that grow from?

I think a lot of songwriting comes out of friction in life. I’m always trying to tell a complete story in my songs.

The second feeling you cultivate almost feels a bit 50’s or 60’s. Was this intentional?

I love music from that era! The warmth of instruments and recordings from that period. Moosecat Recording had a lot of the raw ingredients for creating the sonic palette on this album, like vintage drums and mics. The line that Kevin plays on guitar in the chorus contributes that 50s Buddy Holly vibe. He improvised it one day and I was like, yes, keep that! It’s so pretty.

What was working on this one at Moosecat Productions like?

It was a revolving door of fun! My dog ran all around Mike’s yard. After building up a few years of experience in doing my own music production, it was really cool to work with someone so skilled because I felt like I now had the vocabulary to shape the music. A recording engineer is like the person shooting the movie, the artist is the director. It takes a lot of trust in both directions, and belief in one another’s taste and vision. It was also the second time doing live tracking with my band, and it was a blast, as always. You feel the fire.

What does the crystalline/rock look graphic represent in your single’s art?

It’s a rock album! The original piece is a medieval Chinese painting by Wu Bin. It’s the first in a scroll of ten absolutely incredible detailed paintings of different views of the same rock. I first saw it in an art history class in college. I stumbled on the real scroll some years later, on exhibition at LACMA. Our brilliant graphic designer Lee Lewallen helped create a high-res stereoscopic image, so the painting, which already has a lot of depth, looks real with 3D glasses on. Credit to my bandmates for the stereoscopic idea.

I have to ask- why did you choose a name based on Genghis Khan? (I love it, by the way!)

It really came out of my name, Jasmine Sankaran, I think it was just said one day when we were joking around and stuck. But I’m not mad about all the subconscious associations with the band name. I’m probably descended from Genghis Khan, at least a little bit.

Jangus Kangus Facebook / Bandcamp