Oded Tzur and Vansh Makh met in a characteristically charming and uncommon way: via a quick email exchange about an extremely niche subculture.

You might recognize Oded as a saxophonist and professional musician, known for a unique jazz style that’s deeply influenced by indian classical music — an unlikely combination that has become his signature sound.

Vansh’s background is as an engineer in high tech: from building mathematical models for wireless communications, to machine learning and cybersecurity, and most recently, in creating a family-history focused app, Feta. Vansh was born and raised in India, but reconnected to Indian classical music in an indirect way: after picking up the saxophone in adulthood as a hobby.

Their paths crossed when Vansh asked a question only one other person has ever asked (hint: it was Oded): is there a saxophonist who has played in the Indian classical idiom in a convincing manner, especially on the tenor sax?

Vansh reached out to Oded via email requesting lessons, to which he received a reply, “Yeah, sure.”

Nine years later, the two created Timeseer, a beautiful integration of their mastery in their respective fields.

As anyone who has embarked on the journey of learning Indian classical music can attest to: there’s a significant challenge in learning how to improvise, a key approach to this style of music, within the varying time cycles (known as Taals) the music rests on. In other words, mastering the rhythms of Indian classical music in order to play the genre in its true form is…well, really hard. And there was no real methodology to it — until Timeseer made one.

Seeking to offer something better than the advice to “just keep practicing”, Vansh and Oded created a practice app that combines visuals inspired by ancestral, ritual shapes (a nod to the music’s roots) and a cognitive learning theory known as chunking.

This approach shifts users’ understanding of time from when to where, supporting short-term memory and unlocking the ability to understand complex rhythms.

What really sets Timeseer apart, though, is that it uses real sound — something you’d expect from all practice apps, but get from almost none. The high-definition sounds you hear on Timeseer were recorded in a professional studio, on real instruments, played by real people, in real time.

Why does this matter? One thing all appreciators and players of music can agree on is that it’s more than a combination of notes or beats. For many, it’s a sanctuary and a medium for connecting to self.

With reverence for all that music is, Vansh and Oded have created a practical tool that gives users a more profound practice, and a sanctuary of sound.