SeeingSounds

Yes, Abhinav Gautam's goal for Seeing Sounds's new "Focus," is to make people focus. And it works -- the seven-song instrumental EP is sharp and persistent, rooted in New Orleans and Indian rhythms, flashing with jazz guitar and piano solos, plus plaintive saxophone wails and electronic synths. But Gautam has even loftier ambitions for his one-man musical project: "The idea was to create a soundtrack that would result in a change in people's brainwaves," he says. "It's like an energetic transfer. Recharging the batteries. Tuning people up. Rebalancing things. The way ginger cleans your palette when you're eating sushi."

Gautam, a Miami doctor who started his career as a New Orleans DJ specializing in house and techno music, has spent the last two years hunkered down in his studio overlooking the beach. He put together more than 60 songs, then arranged 13 of them into a trio of 2019 EPs named after moods and commands: "Sleep," "Calm," "Energize." "I just love creating stuff," he says.