Download the First Track Off Stupid Ditties Lucky 7
The alternative music compilation will be out in September
Kolkata pop rock band The Ganesh Talkies at the Converse Original Band Hunt in Mumbai last year. Photo: Siddharth Dugha
When Rishu Singh kicked off Stupid ditties as an “unmetal” compilation disc in 2006 on his label Ennui.BOMB, he was sure that there would never be a dearth for new material for the next release. Singh was proved right every year. The first compilation included 18 tracks and the number doubled in 2011 when Stupid ditties turned five, compelling Singh to release not one but two discs. Says Singh, “I received entries from 150 bands.” Eventually, 45 bands made it to the fifth edition.
The idea of the compilation was as ingenious as it was effortless to sustain and the internet only helped Singh’s cause to push alternative music. Says Singh, “There are people from Croatia downloading this stuff and I don’t even know where that is,” adding that he will keep Stupid ditties going for at least another 20 years.
The seventh edition of Lucky 7: Stupid ditties, releases in the first week of September this year and includes a mix of hip hop, electronica, folk and alternative, experimental rock on and “anything that’s not straight-up rock,” says Singh. Mumbai’s The Lightyears Explode have been featured in four editions of the compilation so far. Says the band’s frontman Saurabh Roy, “We had sent in one of the first songs we ever wrote, ”˜The Weapon,’ for Stupid Ditties 3 just one month after we formed. It felt like a competition then, but we were asked to send in an entry every year after that.”
To ensure that the compilation included both unknown and popular bands, Singh would also invite established bands such as Shaa’ir+Func and Sridhar/Thayil to send in entries. But starting this year, Singh maintains that he will no longer “chase” bands to send in entries. He adds, “Stupid ditties can be all about a beautiful wave of new music.”
Of the 81 entries Singh received this year, more than 20 entries from Kolkata artists. Pop rock band Ganesh Talkies, whose “Item Song” was included on Stupiditties 666 sent in an entry this year too ”“ “Dancing Dancing” from their upcoming album. Says Ganesh Talkies vocalist Suyasha Sengupta, “Stupiditties helped us break into the national scene. We got to play in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Adds Mithy Tatak, drummer of The Vinyl Records, who also sent in a track this year, “There’s no demarcation between big bands and small bands or experienced bands and new bands. It’s all about good music.”
Singh aims for a single-disc release with Lucky 7 turning to Mumbai producer Ayan De for mixing, with the hope that the compilation keeps in tune with his label’s ethos. “It’s all about getting fresh sounds and breaking new bands,” says Singh.
Download “Zopadpati Re” by Kabir Kala Manch for free.
Stupid Ditties Lucky 7 Tracklist:
Black Letters ”“ “You Say”
Bone Broke ”“ “Old Man”
Dayglocrazie ”“ “Prem Dibi”
Duncun Rufus ”“ “Yeah Yeah Yeah”
Flameshot Fakirs ”“ “Moko Kahan”
Gowri and the Jazz B*stards ”“ “Hindi for Dummies”
Hoirong ”“ “Fancy Dress + Hindi = Awesome”
Jeepers Creepers ”“ “Man in the Centre”
Jekyll & Hyde ”“ “Sweet Loving”
Kabir Kala Manch ”“ “Zopadpati Re”
Laxmi Bomb ”“ “Reggae Rasiya”
Loch Lomond ”“ “Dive”
mode.AKAÂ ”“ “andov.a”
Modern Mafia ”“ “Arnie”
Nischay Parekh ”“ “Ocean”
Planes and Parachutes ”“ “Some Fries”
Polar Lights ”“ “Empty Hallway And A Candlelight”
Sky Rabbit ”“ “Where”
Spud in the Box ”“ “Attention Please”
The Bicycle Days ”“ “Conundrum”
The F16’s ”“ “Light Bulbs”
The Ganesh Talkies ”“ “Dancing! Dancing!”
The Grasshoppers ”“ “Purple Queen”
The Koniac Net ”“ “Bricks”
The Lightyears Explode ”“ “Late Night Song”
The Vinyl Records ”“ “The Vibe”
Two’s A Crowd ”“ “Get Over It”
