Curtis Waters

Creating hazy indie electronic tracks as well as emotionally charged indie rock and alternative rap numbers, Curtis Waters records everything himself and draws from sources including Frank Ocean and Joy Division. Following scattered solo releases and variable joint efforts, he unveiled his inaugural album, Prom Night 2018, during 2019. His rise occurred in 2020 via the driving viral hit “Stunnin’” that featured Harm Franklin and later appeared on the subsequent Pity Party. Recognized for addressing mental health alongside stylistic unpredictability, his third album, 2023’s BAD SON, emphasized the grittier tones of punk, alt-rock, and industrial rap.

Born in Nepal and residing during childhood in India, Germany, Nepal, and Canada, Abhinav Bastakoti relocated with his family to Cary, North Carolina, at age 17. His initial joint home recordings under the Curtis Waters name, such as 2016’s “WastingTime/Roaches” with Tapper and the following year’s “Hot Boy Anthem” alongside rapper Harm Franklin, matched cloud rap conventions through basic beats, dreamy lo-fi textures, and eccentric touches. During the same period he supplied productions for Franklin and comparable artists like Fuji Frank.

After attracting a modest yet steady streaming listenership, Waters released the twelve-track Prom Night 2018 in May 2019, which included appearances by Chio, Mileena, and Harm Franklin once more. He kept distributing original material and production credits for fellow musicians almost monthly until May 2020’s assertive “Stunnin’” spread rapidly through social media clips. Also featuring Franklin, the track amassed tens of millions of streams within weeks. Waters responded with the fiercer, anti-establishment “System,” which surfaced on the full-length Pity Party later that year. Although the single’s somber post-punk foundation stood apart from the album’s heavier emphasis on alt-rap, buoyant electronic pop, and emo-pop, the same atmosphere resurfaced on tracks such as the single “MANIC MAN” from his following album. Issued by Guin Records in June 2023, BAD SON examined his personal formative years through a darker, more abrasive sonic range.