Listen: Kolkata Indietronica Duo Oh, Rocket’s Debut EP

Oh, Rocket (from left) Shubharun Sengupta and Aniket Dutta at Ziro Festival of Music. Photo: Pranab Doley

After winning over new fans at the recently-concluded Ziro Festival of Music in Arunachal Pradesh, Kolkata indietronica duo Oh, Rocket are finally ready to make a mark closer home. Comprising vocalist Aniket Dutta and guitarist Shubharun Sengupta, who got together in late 2013, Oh, Rocket launch their debut EP The Clouds Woke No Clocks with their first gig in Kolkata as part of the weekly gig series Jamsteady. Says Dutta, “The Calcutta crowd is a bit difficult to understand at times, but I hope they like our music.”

The Clouds Woke No Clocks may include just four tracks but is a good enough sample of the duo’s sound. Oh, Rocket, who seem to be influenced by American chillwave producer Neon Indian’s bright synth work and Brit indie rockers Foals, have been performing with synth, backing tracks and guitars for their live sets, and are hoping to get a full band in place. Says Dutta, “We’ve been traveling for the last month, so there’s been little time to find members.” While the EP contains their jumpy debut single “Cat Door Back Door Man,” which released in April, Oh, Rocket run to the other end of the spectrum on the EP’s slow, moody closing track “Conch.”

Bengaluru post-rock band Space Behind the Yellow Room’s drummer-vocalist Shoumik Biswas, however, will be playing live with Oh, Rocket later in the year, at the New Wave Asia Musicfest in Goa in November. For their Kolkata EP launch gig, Dutta says they will stick to a one-hour set as a duo, including new material such as the anime-influenced “Mitsuo” and “Broccoli Negative.” Although plans were in place to release their full-length album Bloomspoon in June, Dutta says he began to concentrate on getting more gigs. The vocalist adds, “We’re also planning to get it produced by someone outside of India, so we’re looking out for producers at the moment.”

Listen to The Clouds Woke No Clocks here.

“Mechanical Kimono”

“FFT”

“Cat Door Back Door Man”

“Conch”

Oh, Rocket perform at Princeton Club, Kolkata on October 17th and at Hauz Khas Social, New Delhi on October 26th.