EP Review: FuzzCulture ”“ Indulge.Divulge
The Delhi IDM duo makes a loud debut offering
(Left) FuzzCulture’s Srijan Mahajan and Arsh Sharma
[easyreview cat1title = “Indulge.Divulge” cat1rating = 3.5]
Indulge.Divulge EP artwork
For all the drum-skin bashing and noisy riffs Srijan Mahajan and Arsh Sharma create outside of their IDM/glitch-hop project FuzzCulture, it’s amazing you can’t hear a trace of either members’ main projects [Mahajan plays with rock veterans Parikrama and alt rock band Half Step Down, while Sharma plays guitar for experimental rock band The Circus] on the debut EP, Indulge.Divulge.
Just like the title suggests, IDM/glitch is certainly an indulgence for both Mahajan and Sharma. Their six-track EP, which released last month, sees two rock musicians step into the unknown and come out with electronic music that’s jumpy and aggressive. Sharma previously said he’s very comfortable in the electronic music space, while Mahajan admitted he’s still a newbie. The title track and EP opener, “Indulge.Divulge,” is thoroughly electronic with rubbery drums and heavily-digitized synth lines.
While Mahajan’s rock drumming chops rule on “Midnight Delinquents,” Sharma introduces an unlikely instrument for electronica ”“ the acoustic guitar ”“ halfway through the trippy “Pizkiatone.” Glitch is all about whacked-out sounds, and FuzzCulture throws in everything from doors being slammed [“Degeneration Next”] to typewriter keys being jammed and coins being shuffled [“Mr. Profanity”]. Since they’ve got just six songs on this EP, they don’t let the energy flag, going into overdrive on the drum and bass-heavy “Beam Me Up,” before settling into a quiet, haunting outro.
Indulge.Divulge is a great example of rock musicians turning to electronic music and not messing it up or making it sound generic. Rather, from the performance sphere, IDM can’t get any more live than this, considering FuzzCulture’s use of guitars and drums over glitched-out sequences. Being not just great musicians, but also producers [Sharma and Mahajan, run Studio Fuzz with producer Nikhil Malik], FuzzCulture make a debut record that sounds like a jab of energetic electro live and over headphones or speakers.
Key tracks: “Indulge.Divulge,” “Pizkiatone”
FuzzCulture plays at Bass Camp Festival on September 28th at Blue Frog, New Delhi along with Mr. Bill, Frame/Frame, Snareophobe, EZ Riser and Tarqeeb, from 9pm onward. Entry: Rs 800.
Stream Indulge.Divulge here
