Exclusive Stream: Bhayanak Maut Vocalist Sunneith Revankar’s Solo Debut ‘Pills’
The Bengaluru-based singer’s upcoming album ‘Shipperman’ showcases his indie folk influences, from Bon Iver to singer-songwriter William Fitzsimmons
Sunneith Revankar. Photo: Sagnik Karmakar
No, there aren’t any pig squeals and guttural growls on this one. Turns out Mumbai metal band Bhayanak Maut’s vocalist and on-stage powerhouse Sunneith Revankar has a softer side after all. On his first solo folk-leaning single “Pills”, off his seven-track debut album Shipperman, Revankar becomes an introverted voice of melancholy. He says, “I’ve always enjoyed singing clean. I must say I was quite terrible at it for the most part say about six or seven years ago. I’d like to think that I’ve gotten better.”
Revankar doesn’t mind being sarcastic about his own album and takes a dig at how Shipperman isn’t too thematically different from all the other acoustic guitar-toting singer-songwriters. “The songs on the album revolve around ‘super original’ ideas of loss, inebriation, and heartbreak. Really reinventing the wheel here!” he says, adding that the word Shipperman took root in how he used to mispronounce the word ”˜fisherman’ as a child.
Self-deprecation aside, “Pills” ”“ which features music written by Boston-based friend and producer-guitarist Nikhil Singh ”“ brings acoustic guitars, layers and a sonic sentiment similar to American indie folk act Bon Iver. The rest of Shipperman also includes music written and recorded by Bhayanak Maut guitarist R. Venkatraman, pianist Joy Gohil and is mixed and mastered by Pune-based Adhiraj Singh [from experimental metallers Noiseware]. Revankar says about being in charge of a solo project compared to working in a band setting, “With this solo album, there’s a lot of coordination involved. It can get quite tedious, if I may be honest.”
The rest of the tracks off Shipperman will be released one at a time, something close to once a month, according to the vocalist. Will Revankar take the project live? He jokingly says, “I don’t know, man. Nikhil is out spreading the good word of the Hindu religion to white people at [music college] Berklee, Joy is working on a bunch of projects in Bombay, and Venky is busy with BM and his own projects. You should ask him about his new project, Godmilk. I am not supposed to tell anyone about it, but it looks like I just did, didn’t I?”
Listen to “Pills” here
