Back in the Game: Duncun Rufus

Lima Yanger of Duncun Rufus. Photo: Ron Bezbaruah

Lima Yanger doesn’t believe in plans. Or perhaps, he had a plan and it’s got a bit ”˜out of band.’ The vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for rock bands such as Bliss Logic and Sleeping Buddha and now Duncun Rufus has been working on their second release The Folds Galore since 2012. What originally started out as a double album now has 45 songs. Says Yanger, “I couldn’t stop myself.”

Yanger is pretty confident of all 45 songs and plans to release The Folds Galore in batches of six-track EPs over the span of the next two years. “I got into this cave mode and started writing a lot.” While his production work for artists such as Mohit Mukhi left him with little time to do more for Duncun Rufus, the first part of The Folds Galore will release next month on the band’s own label Duncania. Yanger has written most of the songs, but adds that the core lineup of guitarist Vinay Lobo and [now Brunei-based] drummer Gaute Johannesen has been recording their parts and sending it across, while there are contributions coming from bassists Kenneth Rebello and Sonu Sangameswaran. Says Yanger, “The nucleus is still there.”

Over the last two years, inspiration for songs have come to Yanger anytime, anywhere. He’s not just talking about sitting in autos or waiting for buses when an idea comes along, though. Says Yanger about a song called “Miss Bee,” part of the first EP, “There are moments when I’m half-asleep and it’s 4 am and something comes to you. So you start up the system [computer], get the chords down and sing something. You open the file a week later and you’re like ”˜Wow!’.” Yanger recalls that night when he was hanging out with friends and “too much excesses happened.” He adds, “One of my friends started bawling his heart out about how he should have never left this girl. We all consoled him and I went to bed, but I couldn’t go to sleep.” Then there’s the pulsating, drum-led “Drop the D,” which Yanger says sounds like there are 100 drummers and a post rock-influenced guitar line. He jokes about another song called “Slow Mo,” which he says is the fastest song on the EP.

Sonically, The Folds Galore is much more up-tempo and heavy rather than mellow. Yanger outlines his plans for the other songs on future EPs, saying there are more instrumental tracks and even an 18-minute song ”“ “The Last Ride” ”“ which is one part of the EP by itself. Says Yanger, “It’s been composed like a film soundtrack. There are long interludes and stuff.”

After nearly a year of no gigs, Duncun Rufus gears up for a set at the Pune edition of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender in December. It’s their first time at one of the country’s biggest music festival and Yanger says they’ll play all the new loud and fast material. It’s the first time they’ll debut any songs off The Folds Galore and Yanger is anxious about the transition from studio to stage. The vocalist says, “I fucking forget about some songs all the time. We still have to internalize them. It’s baby steps for now.”