Award-winning Toronto musician’s debut album only available on CD and vinyl until fall

What’s old is new again, and in the case of an award-winning Toronto musician, that applies to both his genre and the format of his upcoming album. 

“It’s a self-titled album. It’s all original music with one cover in there, and it’s everything I’ve been working on for the last 10 to 15 years,” Agneya Chikte, an Indo-Canadian percussionist and composer who recently won the 2026 Breakthrough Jazz Artist award at the Toronto Jazz Fest, tells INsauga.com.  

Chikte, who simply goes by Agneya, grew up surrounded by classical and folk traditions in western India and immersed himself in jazz after moving to Toronto. 

Although he’s been lending his talents to audiences and fellow artists for years, he’s going to release his debut album AGNEYA in September and he says the album, which will showcase work that combines South Asian rhythmic circles, West African grooves and jazz improvisation, is currently only available on vinyl or CD.

The physical album copies can be purchased at his shows.  

“One single is available to stream, but the album is only available on CD and vinyl. You can order online or at shows. It’s a small way of taking back a little control from the streaming service,” he says, adding that the album won’t be available for streaming or digital purchase until its fall release date. 

“At all my tour dates from June until September, I’ve been selling physical Vinyl and CDs. So people who come out to watch the show have the opportunity to take the record home with them if they’d like. It’s sort of a live-only pre-sale,” he explains.

“I make it a point to mention at shows that the only way to listen to the music as of now is either live or on a physical disc that they can only purchase live. So far, people seem pretty happy to support the music while also getting to take a pre-release physical copy home.”

At a time when streaming is king, Agney says that sticking to physical media before the album officially drops in the fall isn’t as much of a gamble as one might think, especially as audiences–even younger ones–become warier of “AI slop” and long for a return to an era where you had to hold art in your hands. 

He also says people are sometimes more likely to purchase a product when they watch someone perform live on stage, creating art and music in real time for the benefit of those who come to listen. 

“I feel like people are really starting to see the effect of AI slop. I’m not anti-AI; it can help a lot of people, but AI assistance is different from AI-generated art, and people see the effect of slop flooding the internet in the name of art,” he says. 

“When they see me literally sweating from the drums and see the creation, it’s way more impactful and people want to buy something to support it.” 

Agneya, who said he was floored when he won the Breakthrough Jazz Artist award (and the $10,000 prize that comes with it) last month, has spent years mastering his craft by playing all over the globe. 

He’s played on stages in Europe and North America and completed a Master’s degree in Berlin after studying music at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto. 

“For me, what’s been interesting is figuring out and understanding music around the world from the perspective of rhythm. ‘What is the drumming culture there?’ and from that, you can draw so many parallels. In Norway, there’s traditional drumming on a wooden-framed drum and it’s a combo of indigenous Norwegian drumming mixed with Swiss army drumming,” he says. 

He also tries to introduce traditional and cultural sounds to urban people who are disconnected from more historic sounds. 

“The average urban person in India doesn’t know much about the cultural music. I like to showcase more folk and traditional songs through contemporary music. With AI, there’s something to be said about the music we’ve been making for millennia.” 

Bringing a more classic genre to the mainstream listener can be a challenge, but Agneya wants new audiences to be open to contemporary jazz and he thinks one way to do that is to show people it’s not the buttoned-up version of 1920s jazz they might envision. 

“I’m calling it global jazz for lack of a better term, but for me, jazz is sort of an umbrella term and the spirit of jazz, deeply rooted in black American music, is about innovation and improvisation and encouraging new voices in the genre,” he says. 

“R&B and hip-hop all come from jazz. I want to change perception and bring people in. It’s adventurous and exciting.” 

While jazz might not be as popular as other genres, a night (or afternoon) out at a jazz bar or lounge is common, with the Reservoir Lounge, the Rex, Drom Taberna and the Jazz Lounge (just to name a few) holding strong in Toronto. Last year, jazz bar and supper club Henry’s on James opened its doors in Hamilton. 

Over the past several weeks, Agneya has played at Jazz Bistro, the Aga Khan Museum’s Rhythms of Canada Festival, the FIFA Queen West Fest, and the Niagara Jazz Festival. Over the next few weeks, he’ll hit Henry’s On James, drop off his album at Drom Taberna and play in venues in Minden, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal and Markham, before heading to Europe to play in Germany.

In October, he’ll perform at the Rex. 

He says the feedback from listeners has been largely positive because he encourages them to embrace the diversity and complexity of the sound. 

“I feel like when you start to treat your audience as smart listeners, they respond in that sense. If I made it easy, people would respond that way, but I explain the stories, I explain what’s going on, what we’re doing and why we’re doing that and people have come up to me and said it’s like something they’ve never heard before, but it makes sense,” he says. 

Since releasing the first single off his album last month, he’s heard from people who don’t typically listen to jazz that the song “feels good to them.”

“Good, well-played music can transcend all boundaries,” he says. 

“I do feel like jazz is very much alive and happening, just changing. It needs to happen, but I’m not worried about live, improvised music.”

Agneya’s self-titled debut will be available for digital purchase on Sept. 18 and will also hit online streaming services.

The album can be pre-ordered here.

Photos from Agneya’s official Facebook page