Biography
Asian-American EDM outfit Hotel Garuda crafts both euphoric festival anthems and introspective dance-pop numbers. Originally a duo featuring Aseem Mangaokar, previously known as Candleweather, alongside Chris Gavino, who performed as Manila Killa, the project issued multiple well-received tracks and official reworkings before becoming a solo endeavor led solely by Mangaokar in 2018; two years afterward he unveiled the new-wave-tinged EP The Tension.
The pair first crossed paths during middle school in Singapore amid families that relocated often. Each later settled stateside for college, with Gavino enrolling at George Mason University in Virginia and Mangaokar attending Occidental University in Los Angeles, while pursuing separate solo work. Their friendship resumed when they met again at Miami Music Week in 2014. Living on opposite coasts, they began trading files and concepts online, appearing both individually and jointly under the Hotel Garuda name. After supplying remixes for BANKS, Galantis, and Alina Baraz, the duo issued their buoyant debut single, “Smoke Signals,” in 2016 via Avicii’s PRMD imprint. Next came “Fixed on You” featuring Violet Days, followed in 2017 by “Till It Burns Out” with Violet Skies and “Dancing on the Moon” alongside Lemaitre.
By 2018 Hotel Garuda had advanced from club dates to major festival stages. June saw the release of “Blurry Eyes” featuring RUNN on Mom+Pop, yet days afterward the artists declared that their final performance as a duo would occur at Michigan’s Electric Forest Festival; Gavino stepped away to concentrate on individual endeavors while Mangaokar carried the project forward alone. The 2019 single “Head in the Trees” signaled a move toward refined electronic pop, a direction the 2020 EP The Tension further explored.
The pair first crossed paths during middle school in Singapore amid families that relocated often. Each later settled stateside for college, with Gavino enrolling at George Mason University in Virginia and Mangaokar attending Occidental University in Los Angeles, while pursuing separate solo work. Their friendship resumed when they met again at Miami Music Week in 2014. Living on opposite coasts, they began trading files and concepts online, appearing both individually and jointly under the Hotel Garuda name. After supplying remixes for BANKS, Galantis, and Alina Baraz, the duo issued their buoyant debut single, “Smoke Signals,” in 2016 via Avicii’s PRMD imprint. Next came “Fixed on You” featuring Violet Days, followed in 2017 by “Till It Burns Out” with Violet Skies and “Dancing on the Moon” alongside Lemaitre.
By 2018 Hotel Garuda had advanced from club dates to major festival stages. June saw the release of “Blurry Eyes” featuring RUNN on Mom+Pop, yet days afterward the artists declared that their final performance as a duo would occur at Michigan’s Electric Forest Festival; Gavino stepped away to concentrate on individual endeavors while Mangaokar carried the project forward alone. The 2019 single “Head in the Trees” signaled a move toward refined electronic pop, a direction the 2020 EP The Tension further explored.
Albums
Singles
